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Lobster larvae are omnivorous and very opportunistic. They eat zooplankton (water fleas, copepods, crab larvae, eggs) and phytoplankton (diatoms, dinoflagellates, filamentous algae).
Postlarvae diet
Postlarvae will eat larvae of crabs and gastropods, copepods,
and fish eggs, while in the plankton, and small shellfish, marine worms,
small sea urchins and little phytoplankton, once settled on the bottom.
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Juvenile and adult diet
Afterwards, lobsters become mainly predators. They feed on crab,
shellfish (mussels, clams, scallops), echinoderms (starfish, sea urchins),
marine worms (nematodes, polychaetes), and gastropods. They also feed on
dead organisms that they come across. Very rarely do they eat algae and
aquatic plants. When a lobster captures a prey, it carries it to its shelter
to eat it.
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| To enlarge (76 KB) |
When lobsters are small, they are
prey for several fish such as cod, tench, flounder, sculpin, wolffish,
ocean pout, monkfish, and dogfish. On the other hand, when they are
adults, lobsters are much less vulnerable. The only large predator for
adult lobster is definitely man. Adult lobsters are especially vulnerable
during moulting, when they are still soft. They can then become occasional
prey for other predators, but lobsters generally moult inside a shelter
for protection.
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| Reviewed: 2005-10-19 |  |
Important Notices |