Dataset: PaV1 Den Tethering
Deployment: Butler_FloridaBay

We tested whether aggregations of healthy lobsters in natural dens differed in their response to the introduction into their den of an additional healthy lobster or a PaV1-infected lobster in a field experiment at three general locations in Florida Bay, Florida (USA)(approximate location coordinates: 24 56 29.72oN, 80 49 24.58oW; 24 50 30.55oN, 80 47 44.86oW; 24 50 17.04oN, 80 48 05.18oW) conducted on sites that had experienced a sponge die-off and thus where lobsters were highly aggregated.  Lobsters (16 - 56 mm CL) were first collected by divers from natural habitats in the middle Florida Keys region, but not at the study site.  The presence or absence of PaV1 in collected lobsters was assayed using PCR and all diseased lobsters used in the experiment were visibly diseased (i.e., showed clinical signs of infection). Lobsters were tethered by tying a loop of monofilament (8 kg test) around their carapace (between the second and third periopods) with a snap swivel tied on the dorsal side of the carapace and the knot sealed with cyanoacrylate superglue.  The snap swivel was clipped to a brick by a 50 cm long monofilament line.  This arrangement permitted tethered lobsters to move freely and naturally within the limits of the tether, but they could not escape.  Divers introduced either a single healthy or single visibly diseased juvenile lobster into separate, haphazardly selected natural aggregations of lobsters found under coral heads or within rocky holes. Dens were individually marked with numbered surface buoys so they could be relocated.  We counted and estimated the sizes of all lobsters within each den prior to the introduction of the tethered lobster and then again 24 hrs later. Healthy tethered lobsters were released after the study, whereas diseased lobsters were returned to the laboratory and euthanized to prevent further spread of the PaV1 virus.