Evidence for hydrodynamic orientation by spiny lobsters in a patch reef environment

Western Atlantic spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) are superb underwater navigators. Spiny lobsters perform dramatic seasonal offshore migrations and have also been shown to locate and home to specific den sites within the elaborate coral reef environment in which they live. How these animals perform such complex orientation tasks is not known. The study reported here was designed to explore the sensory mechanisms that spiny lobsters use to orient in and around a familiar patch reef environment. Our results show that, in the absence of visual cues, lobsters displaced a short (50 m) distance off the reef do not initially (i.e. within 20 min) travel towards their dens or return to the patch reef where their dens are located. Instead, the headings lobsters follow are significantly correlated to the direction of local hydrodynamic cues and, specifically, to the direction of approaching wave surge. Results from ultrasonic tracking experiments over longer periods (24 h) suggest that displaced lobsters are able to relocate the reef where they were captured, even without visual cues. These results suggest that hydrodynamic cues may provide useful and immediate directional information to lobsters within the local environment of the home reef.