Biologger measurements of feeding in the American lobster Homarus americanus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) (Decapoda: Astacidea: Nephropidae) in the wild.

This article focuses on the feeding behavior of American lobsters (Homarus americanus) in their natural habitat, using custom-built biologgers called C-HAT to directly measure mandibular movements, heart rate, and locomotion. Data from eight lobsters over nearly 274 hours revealed that lobsters feed frequently throughout day and night in short bouts, typically lasting less than two minutes and involving fewer than 10 bites, with feeding comprising just over 4% of observed time. Heart rate increased with locomotor activity but showed no significant change during feeding, and there was no correlation between movement and feeding activity, indicating that locomotion alone is not a reliable indicator of foraging. These findings suggest that wild lobsters consume small prey items frequently rather than large meals and that direct measurement of feeding is necessary to accurately assess foraging behavior.