Oxygen consumption by lobster larvae at different temperatures using closed cell respirometry for lobster larvae from Gulf of Maine near Boothbay Maine from 2021 to 2023 (Lobster Thermal Thresholds project)

We used the American lobster (Homarus americanus lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:156134) in the Gulf of Maine as a model system to define thermal tolerance in larvae and establish mechanistic linkages between thermal tolerance of the individual larva and the patterns of settlement in the field. We assessed and compared the thermal tolerances of larvae reared in the laboratory using conventional methods with larvae captured in the wild, and examined ontogenetic changes in thermal tolerance. The upper and lower thermal thresholds larval stages I-IV and the first juvenile stage were defined in part by oxygen consumption and scope for activity (defined as the difference in oxygen consumption between larvae at rest and larvae swimming actively). This data set includes the raw oxygen consumption data obtained through closed system microrespirometry and subsequently used to calculate scope for activity. These data were collected between 2021-2023 at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, led by Eric Annis.