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Field settlement locations on subtidal marine hard substrata: Is active larval exploration involved?
Author(s) -
Walters Linda J.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1992.37.5.1101
Subject(s) - settlement (finance) , larva , oceanography , field (mathematics) , ecology , geography , geology , biology , world wide web , computer science , payment , mathematics , pure mathematics
The role of larval exploration of surfaces in determining spatial patterns of settlement was examined in the field in a low‐energy environment by comparing locations where larvae first contacted topographically complex surfaces to locations where larvae metamorphosed. The barnacle Balanus amphitrite and the bryozoan Bugula neritina both metamorphosed more frequently around the bases of bumps on surfaces than would be predicted from the distribution of initial surface contacts. Neither differential mortality nor passive erosion of larvae explains these results. Larvae also did not leave the surfaces once contacted. So, in this low‐flow environment, the processes that govern the delivery of larvae to surfaces also determined where settlement occurs on a scale of tens of centimeters. Exploratory larval behavior was important over smaller spatial scales (mm–cm).