DAO prepress abstract  -  doi: 10.3354/dao01899

ABSTRACT: The Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, supports important fisheries in the Caribbean Sea. It is host to the first known naturally occurring, pathogenic viral disease in a lobster caused by Panulirus argus virus 1 (PaV1); a lethal, unclassified virus that is prevalent in juvenile lobsters. We describe a series of laboratory experiments aimed at assessing the likely modes of disease transmission, determining the survival of lobsters relative to each transmission pathway, and identifying potential alternate hosts. Given evidence for lower prevalence of PaV1 in large lobsters, the effect of lobster size on susceptibility was also examined. Results demonstrated that PaV1 can be transmitted to juvenile lobsters via inoculation, through ingestion of diseased tissue, by contact with diseased lobsters, and – among the smallest juveniles – through water over distances of a few meters. Contact or water-borne transmission, the most likely mechanisms operating in the wild, were less efficient than inoculation or ingestion. Nevertheless, about half of the smallest lobsters in contact and water-borne trials contracted the disease and died within three months. Other decapods that co-occur with P. argus (e.g., spotted lobster, P. gutttatus; stone crab, Menippe mercenaria; channel crab, Mithrax spinosissimus) did not acquire the disease after inoculation with PaV1-infected hemolymph. Our results confirmed that PaV1 is highly infectious and lethal to juvenile P. argus, particularly the early benthic juveniles. The disease is a threat to mariculture and is a likely cause of high mortality among early benthic juveniles in wild populations.