Surveys in the Florida Keys indicated fewer juvenile spiny lobsters in an area where their primary habitat, stands of benthic algae Laurencia spp., was heavily silted. Limited postlarval settlement and avoidance of silted algal habitats by juveniles probably accounts for the paucity of young spiny lobsters in such localities. In addition, although juvenile spiny lobsters are nonselective predators, lower prey availability in silted algae probably promotes transiency which, in turn, causes increased mortality by predation while juveniles are exposed. Large-scale siltation exacerbated by human activity is potentially deleterious to spiny lobster recruitment. -from Authors
