Chemical Communication and Social Behavior of the LobsterHomarus americanusand Other Decapod Crustacea

Abstract The American lobster, Homarus americanus, is presented as a model organism of chemical communication in decapod crustaceans. Lobsters use chemical signals to form and maintain dominance hierarchies, to choose and locate mates, to determine reproductive receptivity, to recognize individual conspecifics, and perhaps to regulate their molt cycles. The chemical signals are carried primarily but not completely in the urine, and are dispersed into the environment by animal-generated currents. The chemical identity of the signals and their use under field conditions is little known. Many decapod crustaceans use chemical signals for purposes similar to those of H. americanus. The chemicals used by decapods to communicate sex, receptivity, dominance, etc., are likely to bear similarities between species. Advances made in pheromone identification will be of great consequence in understanding crustacean chemical communication, just as has been the case in insects.