Reproductive ecology of the intertidal honeycomb barnacle in New South Wales

作者：Jeffery Carolyn J^*

来源：Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2017, 486: 13-21.

DOI：10.1016/j.jembe.2016.09.013

• Barnacle
• Chamaesipho tasmanica
• Reproductive output
• Size
• Density
• Future populations

In this study the small honeycomb barnacle Chamaesipho tasmanica Foster and Anderson occupied the mid-intertidal area at Cape Banks, New South Wales, but varied greatly in abundance from low to upper shores within its range of distribution. Higher densities of these barnacles lived on lower shores, while larger barnacles lived on upper shores. Settlement (involving larval supply and larval choice), rather than post-settlement mortality, has already been found to determine abundance and distribution of these gregarious barnacles, while longevity governs the size of larger barnacles. In this study, it was hypothesised that reproductive output would also influence the demography of Chamaesipho. Three models were proposed, and appropriate hypotheses tested experimentally, to explain the relationships between numbers, and size of adults, and reproductive output, and their influence on future populations of barnacles. Results demonstrated that larger barnacles had a greater reproductive output than smaller barnacles. Reproductive output, however, was not density-dependent and did not determine ultimate populations of Chamaesipho at Cape Banks. Consequently this study emphasised the importance of early settlement processes in determining the abundance and distribution of this barnacle.

• 出版日期2017-1