Guidance for early life-history research and monitoring of the American lobster, Homarus americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837 (Decapoda: Astacidea: Nephropidae)

The American lobster, Homarus americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837, is a well-studied species, particularly because of the high economic importance of its fishery in the United States and Canada. The first year of a lobster’s life, which spans both pelagic and benthic phases, is critical to understanding fishery health and has become a major focus of laboratory and field studies. Despite increasing research efforts, the field lacks standardized methodologies for evaluating early life history (ELH). There is a need for a compilation of information on best practices across common methods in ELH American lobster research to inform future work. We provide a comprehensive overview of the American lobster’s ELH, guidance on field study designs, including long-term monitoring surveys and laboratory techniques, and recommendations for biological endpoints. The information presented is intended to equip researchers at all career stages with the tools needed to design and conduct successful work on the complex early life history phases of the American lobster. Our goal is to increase and facilitate comparable results among studies in support of sustainable fisheries for American lobster and other crustaceans with similar life histories.