Muscle Weight Relationship to Serum Proteins, Hemocytes, and Hepatopancreas in the Lobster, <i>Homarus americanus</i>

Abstract

Total serum protein values, hemocyte numbers, and muscle weights were determined for 216 intermolt lobsters immediately after their capture, and for 230 others held captive under a variety of dietary and environmental conditions. Average muscle values ranged from approximately 13% to the more normal 20–25% of the live animals' weight, depending upon experimental conditions. The total serum protein up to a level of 55 mg/ml was shown to be a reliable indicator of muscle weights, although the relationship was not identical for all lobster groups. It appeared to be modified chiefly by the areas from which the different groups were taken. Diet was more important than the temperatures (5 to 14 C) in affecting changes in muscle and serum protein values. Starvation caused a greater reduction (50 to 70%) in the size of the hepatopancreas than in the muscle. Histological examination of the hepatopancreatic tissue showed that the lipid content was markedly reduced upon starvation and that a degeneration of this organ was apparent for lobsters fed a beef liver and herring diet. Measurement of serum proteins would appear to be a useful technique in experiments on lobster nutrition and have value, within specified limits, for assessing the physiological condition of wild lobsters.