Use of larval supply in benthic ecology:testing correlations between larval supply and larval settlement

Larval habitat selection, not larval supply, determines settlement patterns and adult distribution in two chthamalid barnacles

1. Two common species of acorn barnacle, Chthamalus montagui and C. stellatus , with similar resource needs, occur together on rocky shores of NW Europe but differ in their adult distribution over two environmental gradients, wave exposure and vertical height on the shore. 2. A sampling programme was undertaken over 2 years to determine the causal mechanisms of this differential distribution. T...

Causes of decoupling between larval supply and settlement and consequences for understanding recruitment and population connectivity

Linking Larval Settlement to Larval Transport: Assumptions, Potentials, and Pitfalls

The majority of benthic organisms inhabiting the nearshore, roughly the zone from 0 to 30 m water depth, have planktonic larvae that inhabit the pelagic environment, where larvae accumulate in an offshore larval pool away from their adult habitats. After a period of time ranging from minutes to years, with a 3 4 week mode for temperate species (Levin & Bridges, 1995), these larvae must return s...

Larval supply, settlement and survival of barnacles in a temperate mangrove forest

Cyprids of the barnacles Elminius covertus and Hexaminius popeiana were sampled in the water column at differing distances from the seaward edge within a mangrove forest and at different tidal elevations at the seaward edge of a mangrove forest in Sydney, Australia. At differing distances from the seaward edge of the forest, the density of settlers of E. covertus and H. popeiana was correlated ...

Pre-settlement behavior in larval bryozoans: the roles of larval age and size.

Larval behaviors prior to settlement are important for both dispersal and the likelihood that larvae will encounter settlement habitat. The role of endogenous factors such as larval age and size are likely to be important in determining pre-settlement behavior but are less well understood than exogenous factors. In a simple experiment we explored the role of larval age and size on pre-settlemen...