Lobstahs Linin' Up

Is my New England accent showing?

Today we are watching some footage from the PBS Nature series Spy in the Ocean. The series sends robotic doppelgängers to “spy” on the animals they are made to mimic. This episode “Deep Relationships” has a spy lobster spending some time in the Caribbean. The robotic lobster is collecting video footage of spiny lobsters gathering during autumn in preparation for migration to calmer and warmer waters. They join together in a line to help protect themselves from choppy waters and from predators as they begin their journey. As many as 50 lobsters can assemble in formations like the one shown. Lining up helps reduce drag as they march on and it keeps them on course. Spiny lobsters have been known to march in this sort of formation for days, guided by the Earth’s magnetic fields as they move on to their winter resting grounds.