Food and Starvation as Factors Affecting the Time to Death of the Lobster Homarus americanus Infected with Gaffkya homari

Among lobsters infected experimentally at 15 C with the pathogen Gaffkya homari, fed animals died much earlier and with higher bacterial numbers than did animals starved for several months. The shorter times to death were attributed to a more rapid development of the pathogen in the fed host, due to the richer nutrient supply in the circulatory system bolstered by substantial reserves. Infected lobsters ate only during the very early stages of infection.