Jenny Wu Biology 862

Bergquist, Derk C., Urcuyo, Istvan A., & Fisher, Charles R. (2002). Establishment and persistence of seep vestimentiferan aggregations on the upper Louisiana slope of the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 241, 89-98. The researchers of the Department of Biology at Pennsylvania State University utilized in situ growth rates in addition to relative abundances and size structures of two tubeworm populations – Lamellibrachia luymesi and Seepiophila jonesi – to examine the establishment and persistence of these aggregations. This data enabled the authors to observe the following: settlement time between the two species, whether or not the settlement is limited to a specific period of time, and the duration of which the recruitment occurs. The results found that both species occurred in every collected aggregation with their abundances differing significantly from a 50:50 distribution – S. jonesi was less abundant. L. luymeis appears to be more dominant, but the two co-occur across varying aggregations in comparable proportions. The recruitment of both species to a certain substrate is observed to take place within a similar time frame along the upper Louisiana slope. This area in the Gulf of Mexico has erratic but stable seepage availability, thus leading to the conclusion that L. luymesi and S. jonesi have a greater ability to capture and hold onto the surrounding resources for an extended period of time.