Feeding Biology of Spiny Lobster Larvae and Implications for Culture

Concern for the sustainability of spiny lobster (Decapoda: Palinuridae) fisheries has created significant interest in their aquaculture. However, attempts to culture spiny lobsters from eggs to puerulus have been largely unsuccessful, hampered by provision of unsuitable diets during the long phyllosoma larval phase. This review summarizes the current understanding of phyllosoma feeding and digestive biology, and collates the findings of previous culture trials. It draws attention to gaps in our knowledge and suggests avenues for future research aimed at bridging these gaps. Finally, it makes recommendations for culture diets based on our current understanding. Problems associated with the provision of live feeds such as Artemia salina (e.g., bacterial contamination) suggest that formulated diets may be most appropriate. An improved understanding of the feeding behavior, natural dietary preferences, nutritional profiles, and digestive capabilities of phyllosoma will identify the size, texture, and nutritional characteristics of a suitable formulated diet. Based on recent morphological and behavioral evidence presented in this review, soft, possibly microencapsulated diets (gelatin/alginate coated) appear to be the most promising formulated diet for early stage larvae, followed by fleshier prey (such as fish larvae) in later stages.