Longevity, reproductive condition and growth of the western rock lobster, Panulirus cygnus george, reared in aquaria

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Abstract
Rock lobsters have been reared in the laboratory from the puerulus stage up to 13 years of age, under conditions of a constant temperature of 25�C or ambient temperatures (mean 20�C, range 15-26�C). The natural death of a male held at ambient temperatures occurred at 6 years of age, and at 25�C natural deaths occurred at 6 years. However, two males, both 12 years of age, one held at 25�C and the other at ambient temperatures, are still alive. Natural deaths of females occurred at 7 and 12 years of age at 25�C and 7 years at ambient temperatures. After reaching maturity, females held at 25�C spawned repetitively. The female that survived to 12 years of age spawned 47 times and produced an estimated 22 × 106 eggs during her lifetime. A fresh mating was not required for the fertilization of each batch of eggs spawned. The two surviving males both showed a change in growth pattern at approximately 8 years of age. This event was correlated with a behavioural change: they attacked and usually killed all moulting females held in the same aquarium. A new method of representing growth data for rock lobsters by fitting empirical stochastic differential equation models to each of a series of growth phases is described.

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