2011 - 2012 Gimenez et al. West Scotland Coast Semibalanus balanoides scale-dependent natural variation in larval nutritional reserves

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Marine Environmental Data & Information Network
Last updated:
16 May 2017
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Summary

Data from a scientific publication looking into spatial variation in body size and nutritional reserves (carbon, nitrogen and lipids) of settled cyprids of the barnacle Semibalanus balanoides along the coast of West Scotland. In species with complex life cycles, laboratory studies have shown that variations in the traits of settling larvae can affect post-settlement survival and influence recruitment and benthic-pelagic coupling. However, we still know little about the magnitude and spatial scale of natural trait variation. We studied spatial variation in body size and nutritional reserves (carbon, nitrogen and lipids) of settled cyprids of the barnacle Semibalanus balanoides along the coast of West Scotland. We quantified variation among regions (north vs. south: range about700 km), locations (about 50 km), shores (about 10 km) and within shores (about 10 m). We also evaluated trait responses to gradients in chlorophyll and shore openness and compared swimming vs. settled cyprids in order to infer the likely influence of costs of substratum search on trait variation. Variability between regions was large, with higher trait values (e.g. carbon cyprid-1: 35 to 50 percent higher) in the north. Most traits correlated negatively with pelagic chlorophyll a (a proxy for larval or juvenile food availability); this counter-gradient pattern suggests an adaptive role of increased reserves, buffering benthic juveniles from low food availability during the critical early post-settlement period. Body size and nitrogen content correlated positively with shore openness; lower than expected carbon content suggest increased costs of substratum search on open shorelines. Higher nitrogen content but lower percent carbon was found in settled vs. swimming larvae, suggesting costs of sub - stratum search at the time of settlement. Overall, we uncovered the spatial scales at which trait variation, shaped by pelagic processes, can affect post-metamorphic survival, recruitment and benthic-pelagic coupling.

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Added to data.gov.uk
2017-07-24
Access contraints
DASSH terms and conditions apply (http://www.dassh.ac.uk/terms-and-conditions). Data available on request through DASSH on behalf of Bangor University
Harvest GUID
7e5adebed60d29c458695d3b33f570eb
Extent
Latitude: 58.8002° to 54.8995°
Longitude: -6.8942° to -4.5211°
Spatial reference system
urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326
Dataset reference date
2017-05-16 (publication)
Frequency of update
notPlanned
Responsible party
Bangor University School of Ocean Sciences (originator); Data Archive for Seabed Species and Habitats (DASSH) (custodian)
ISO 19139 resource type
dataset
Metadata language
eng
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Data available on request through DASSH on behalf of Bangor University