Climate Changes Lobsters - fact

The world is changing, from the jungles to the seas - and evidence of our changing environment is all around us.

Recently, lobster scientist Jessica Waller has released the findings of a study that she has been undertaking since the 1990s. The research has found that female lobsters are reaching sexual maturity at smaller sizes and as a result laying fewer eggs.

The consensus is that less favourable conditions created by ocean acidification and warming are the primary cause. Female lobsters seem to be rushing to maturity in order to maintain their populations.

Studies from Atlantic Canada have found that eggs from smaller lobsters have less proteins and fats that would sustain the larvae.

In short, climate stresses are leading to fewer offspring which hatch into an increasingly harsh environment.

However, research by Maura Neimisto found that at a molecular level, the larval stages of lobsters reacted to ocean acid and heat levels to support shell structure and immune systems very strongly. Which bodes well for the future of lobsters and shows just how adaptable life on Earth can be.

What is unknown is if this stressful environment will have an enduring impact. Something has to give, and perhaps lobsters in a changing world are compensating basic growth at the expense of something else in their bodies.