BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 28, 2021
Researchers at UMaine and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences are trying to figure out what baby lobsters eat in order to make sure they are better prepared for climate change as many of their main food sources start to decline. In recent years, the number of juvenile lobsters compared with adult lobsters has declined, suggesting that lobsters are dying off in the early stages of life. In their larval stage, lobsters spend several weeks feeding on zooplankton to fuel their growing and changing bodies. Scientists are working to figure out whether larval lobsters aren’t making it to adulthood because there isn’t enough for them to eat. Researchers have noticed major changes in the zooplankton population in the Gulf of Maine due to its warming waters.