Distribution and transport pathways of Panulirus ornatus (Fabricius, 1776) and Panulirus spp. larvae in the Coral Sea, Australia

Abstract

Distribution of phyllosoma larvae and pueruli of the rock lobster Panulirus ornatus and other Panulirus species was surveyed in the north-west Coral Sea in May 1997 and compared to ocean currents. Distribution of P. ornatus larvae revealed the sources of recruits to the Torres Strait lobster fishery. Phyllosomas and pueruli of P. ornatus dominated the Panulirus spp. plankton-trawl catch. Surviving pueruli were transferred to an aquarium to await confirmation of their identity. Pregilled P. ornatus phyllosomas were most abundant approximately 300 km east of the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and near the confluence of the South Equatorial Current and Coral Sea Gyre. Gilled phyllosomas were also common there but most numerous adjacent to the GBR. Pueruli were most abundant adjacent to the GBR well south of Torres Strait. The distribution of P. ornatus phyllosomas and pueruli in relation to the ocean currents supported the hypothesis that phyllosomas are transported from the Gulf of Papua breeding grounds by the Hiri boundary current into the Coral Sea Gyre and then by surface onshore currents onto the Queensland coast and into Torres Strait. Distributions of larvae of other Panulirus species and the synaxid Palinurellus wieneckii differed from those of P. ornatus.