Lobsters navigate their underwater world through a sophisticated array of chemical senses. The common question of whether lobsters “taste with their feet” hints at a complex system of specialized organs. This intricate chemosensory system allows them to find food, avoid danger, and interact with other lobsters.
How Lobsters Sense Their World
Lobsters possess chemoreceptors on various body parts, including their walking legs, which allow them to sense chemicals upon contact with surfaces. These receptors are located on setae, specialized hairs, on the tips of their walking legs. As a lobster walks across the seafloor, these setae sample the immediate chemical environment, providing information about the substrate. This contact chemoreception helps them investigate potential food sources or recognize familiar terrain.
While the walking legs contribute to chemical sensing, they are not the primary chemosensory organs for lobsters. The antennules, small antennae at the front of their heads, are the main organs for detecting distant chemical cues, akin to a sense of smell. Lobsters flick their antennules through the water, sampling chemical plumes related to food, mates, or predators from a distance. These antennules contain specialized aesthetasc sensilla, which are highly sensitive to chemical compounds, including amino acids, often found in prey.
Lobsters also use chemoreceptors on their mouthparts to evaluate food once it is brought closer. These mouthpart sensilla help determine the palatability of an item, ensuring that only suitable food is ingested. This multi-tiered chemosensation, involving distant detection by antennules, contact sampling by walking legs, and final evaluation by mouthparts, provides a thorough chemical understanding of their surroundings.
Why Chemosensation Matters for Lobsters
The multi-faceted chemosensory system is important for a lobster’s survival in the marine environment. Foraging is reliant on chemical cues; lobsters use their antennules to locate food sources. They can detect specific compounds, like amino acids, common in prey, enabling them to find buried prey even in soft sediments.
Chemical sensing also plays a role in navigation and shelter selection. By sensing chemical gradients on the seafloor, lobsters can orient themselves within their territory and locate safe havens. This helps them return to familiar areas.
Avoiding predators is another important function of chemosensation. Lobsters can detect chemical signals released by predators, prompting evasive or shelter-seeking behaviors. These chemical warnings allow them to assess risk and react accordingly.
Chemical communication is important for lobster reproduction. Female lobsters release pheromones, often through their urine, to signal their reproductive readiness and attract dominant males to their dens. Males, in turn, use these chemical cues to identify potential mates, and chemical signals influence social hierarchies and mating success.