Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Oviposition, larval abundance, in situ larval growth and recruitment of the herbivorous gastropodLacuna vincta in kelp canopies in Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island (British Columbia)

  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We investigated recruitment of the herbivorous gastropodLacuna vincta (Montagu, 1803) in the canopies ofMacrocystis integrifolia andNereocystis luetkeana beds in Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island (British Colombia), from 1987 to 1989. Four factors influencing intensity and patterns of recruitment were studied: (1) seasonality of oviposition, (2) larval abundance, (3) growth of larvae in the field and (4) larval settlement. Egg masses were abundant on low intertidal algae but were scarce in kelp canopies. Although egg masses could be found almost year-round, a distinct and intense period of oviposition occurred during winter and spring. Intracapsular development lasted 2.5 to 3.5 wk before planktotrophic veligers emerged. The duration of the planktonic period, 7 to 9 wk, was determined through an in situ study of cohorts ofLacuna spp. larvae present in the plankton between January and June 1988. The general timing of the onset of the spring peak recruitment period was predicted from these cohorts. Primary periods of recruitment ofL. vincta in the canopy occurred in April–May (average density up to 383.9 juveniles m−2 blades), with a second period of lower intensity in the late summer—fall period. We observed similar trends between abundance of advanced larvae (> 500µm) in the plankton and recruitment rates in kelp canopies. Although adults were occasionally observed in the canopy, newly metamorphosed juveniles consistently dominated the habitat. The persistance of small juveniles (0.7 to 1.5 mm), rapid declines in density shortly after recruitment, and SCUBA observations of drifting individuals suggest that juveniles migrate to the under-canopy or low intertidal area after a brief period of growth on kelp blades.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature cited

  • Abbott, R. T. (1974). American Seashells, 2nd edn. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Barker, M. F. (1977). Observations on the settlement of the brachiolaria larvae ofStichaster australis (Verrill) andCoscinasterias calamaria (Gray) (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) in the laboratory and on the shore. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 30: 95–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Barker, M. F. (1979). Breeding and recruitment in a population of the New Zealand starfishStichaster australis (Verrill). J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 41: 195–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayne, B. L. (1964). Primary and secondary settlement inMytilus edulis L. (Mollusca). J. Anim. Ecol. 33: 513–523

    Google Scholar 

  • Beukema, J. J., Vlas, J. de (1989). Tidal-current transport of threaddrifting postlarval juveniles of the bivalveMacoma balthica from the Wadden Sea to the North Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 52: 193–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Blok, J. W. de, Tan-Maas, M. (1977). Function of byssus threads in young postlarvalMytilus. Nature, Lond. 267: 386–387

    Google Scholar 

  • Caffey, H. M. (1985). Spatial and temporal variation in settlement and recruitment of intertidal barnacles. Ecol. Monogr. 55: 313–332

    Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, R. A., Rumrill, S. S. (1982). Larval abundance and recruitment of the sand dollarDendraster excentricus in Monterey Bay, California, USA. Mar. Biol. 71: 197–202

    Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, R. A., Schroeter, S. C. (1980). Sea urchin recruitment: effect of substrate selection on juvenile distribution. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 2: 243–247

    Google Scholar 

  • Chia, F. S., Young, C. M., McEuen, F. S. (1984). The role of larval settlement behaviour in controlling patterns of abundance in echinoderms. In: Engels, W. (ed.) Advances in invertebrate reproduction, Vol. 3. Elsevier, New York, p. 409–424

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell, J. H. (1985). The consequences of variation in initial settlement vs. post-settlement mortality in rocky intertidal communities. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 93: 11–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, A. R. (1987). Variation in recruitment of the subtidal colonial ascidianPodoclavella cylindrica (Quoy & Gaimard): the role of substratum choice and early survival. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 106: 57–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebert, T. A., Russell, M. P. (1988). Latitudinal variation in size structure of the west coast purple urchin: a correlation with headlands. Limnol. Oceanogr. 33: 286–294

    Google Scholar 

  • Fralick, R. A., Turgeon, K. W., Mathieson, A. C. (1974). Destruction of kelp populations byLacuna vincta (Montagu). Nautilus 88: 112–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeland, H. J., Crawford, W. R., Thompson, R. E. (1984). Currents along the Pacific Coast of Canada. Atmosphere-Ocean 22: 151–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Fretter, V., Manly, R. (1977). Algal associations ofTricolia pullus, Lacuna vincta andCerithiopsis tubercularis (gastropoda) with special reference to the settlement of their larvae. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 57: 999–1017

    Google Scholar 

  • Fretter, V., Shale, D. (1973). Seasonal changes in populations density and vertical distribution of prosobranch veligers in offshore plankton at Plymouth. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 53: 471–492

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaines, S., Brown, S., Roughgarden, J. (1985). Spatial variation in larval concentrations as a cause of spatial variation in settlement for the barnacle,Balanus glandula. Oecologia 67: 267–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaines, S., Roughgarden, J. (1985). Larval settlement rate: a leading determinant of structure in an ecological community of the marine intertidal zone. Proc. natl. Acad Sci. U.S.A. 82: 3707–3711

    Google Scholar 

  • Grahame, J. (1977). Reproductive effort andr- andK-selection in two species ofLacuna (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia). Mar. Biol. 40: 217–224

    Google Scholar 

  • Grahame, J. (1986). The population biology of two species of twoLacuna (chink-shells) at Robin Hood's Bay. In: Moore, P. G., Seed, R. (eds.) The ecology of rocky shores. Columbia University Press, New York, p. 136–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Grosberg, R. K. (1982). Intertidal zonation of barnacles: the influence of planktonic zonation of larvae on vertical distribution of adults. Ecology 63: 894–899

    Google Scholar 

  • Hickey, B. M. (1979). The California Current system — hypotheses and facts. Prog. Oceanogr. 8: 191–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Highsmith, R. C. (1982). Induced settlement and metamorphosis of sand dollar (Dendraster excentricus) larvae in predator-free sites: adult sand dollard beds. Ecology 63: 329–337

    Google Scholar 

  • Jamieson, G. S., Phillips, A. C. (1988). Occurence ofCancer crab (C. magister andC. oregonensis) megalopae off the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Fish. Bull. U.S. 86: 525–542

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, C. R., Mann, K. H. (1986). The importance of plant defence abilities to the structure of subtidal seaweed communities: the kelpLaminaria longicruris de la Pylaie survives grazing by the snailLacuna vincta (Montagu) at high population densities. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 97: 231–267

    Google Scholar 

  • Keough, M. J., Downes, B. J. (1982). Recruitment of marine invertebrates: the roles of active larval choices and early mortality. Oecologia 54: 348–352

    Google Scholar 

  • Kozloff, E. N. (1987). Keys to the marine invertebrates of Puget Sound, the San Juan Archipelago, and adjacent regions, 3rd edn. University of Washington Press, Seattle

    Google Scholar 

  • Lane, D. J. W., Beaumont, A. R., Hunter, J. R. (1985). Byssus drifting and the drifting threads of the young post-larval musselMytilus edulis. Mar. Biol. 84: 301–308

    Google Scholar 

  • Langan, K. M. (1984). The reproductive ecology of two closely related marine snails from central California:Lacuna marmorata andLacuna unifasciata. M.Sc. Thesis, University of California, Santa Cruz, California

    Google Scholar 

  • Luckenbach, M. W. (1984). Settlement and early post-settlement survival in the recruitment ofMulinia lateralis (Bivalvia). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 17: 245–250

    Google Scholar 

  • Maney, E. J., Ebersole, J. P. (1990). Continuous reproduction and episodic recruitment ofLacuna vincta (Montagu, 1803) in the Gulf of Maine. Veliger 33: 215–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Martel, A. (1988). Drifting as an important dispersal and recruitment mechanism in small intertidal invertebrates. Am. Zool. 28: 139A

  • Martel, A. (1990). Recruitment, post-metamorphic drifting and reproductive ecology in the herbivorous gastropodLacuna spp. within kelp canopies and intertidal seaweed communities. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

    Google Scholar 

  • Martel, A., Chia, F. S. (in press). Drifting and dispersal of small bivalves and gastropods with direct development. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol.

  • Martel, A., Chia, F. S. (1991). Foot-raising behaviour and active participation during the initial phase of post-metamorphic drifting in the gastropodLacuna spp. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 72: 247–254

    Google Scholar 

  • Pechenik, J. A. (1984). The relationship between temperature, growth rate, and duration of planktonic life for larvae of the gastropodCrepidula fornicata (L.). J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 74: 241–257

    Google Scholar 

  • Pechenik, J. A. (1985). Delayed metamorphosis of marine molluscan larvae: current status and directions for future research. Am. malac. Bull. Spec. Edition No. 1: 85–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Pechenik, J. A. (1986). Field evidence for delayed metamorphosis of larval gastropods:Crepidula plana Say,C. fornicata (L.), andBittium alternatum. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 97: 313–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Pechenik, J. A. (1987). Environmental influences on larval development. In: Giese, A. C., Pearse, J. S., Pearse, V. B. (eds.) Reproduction of marine invertebrates, Vol. 9. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, p. 551–608

    Google Scholar 

  • Prezant, R. S., Chalermwat, K. (1984). Flotation of the bivalveCorbicula fluminea as a means of dispersal. Science, N.Y. 225: 1491–1493

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen, E. (1973). Systematics and ecology of the Isefjord marine fauna (Denmark). Ophelia 11: 1–507

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowley, R. J. (1989). Settlement and recruitment of sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus spp.) in a sea-urchin barren ground and a kelp bed: are populations regulated by settlement or post-settlement processes? Mar. Biol. 100: 485–494

    Google Scholar 

  • Rumrill, S. S. (1987). Differential predation upon embryos and larvae of temperate Pacific Echinoderms. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

    Google Scholar 

  • Rumrill, S. S. (1989). Population size-structure, juvenile growth, and breeding periodicity of the sea starAsterina miniata in Barkley Sound, British Columbia. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 56: 37–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell-Hunter, W. D., McMahon, R. F. (1975). An anomolous sex-ratio in the sublittoral marine snail,Lacuna vincta Turton, from near Woods Hole. Nautilus 89: 14–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarver, D. J. (1979). Recruitment and juvenile survival in the sea hareAplysia juliana (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia). Mar. Biol. 54: 353–361

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanks, A. L. (1983). Surface slicks associated with tidally forced internal waves may transport pelagic larvae of benthic invertebrates and fishes shoreward. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 13: 311–315

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanks, A. L., Wright, W. G. (1987). Internal-wave-mediated shoreward transport of cyprids, megalopae, and gammarids and correlated longshore differences in the settling rate of intertidal barnacles. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 114: 1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Sigurdsson, J. B., Titman, C. W., Davies, P. A. (1976). The dispersal of young post-larval bivalve molluscs by byssus threads. Nature, Lond. 262: 386–387

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, B. D., Cabot, E. L., Foreman, R. E. (1985). Seaweed detritus versus benthic diatoms as important food resources for two dominant subtidal gastropods. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 92: 143–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. A. S. (1973). The population biology ofLacuna pallidula (Da Costa) andLacuna vincta (Montagu) in northeast England. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 53: 493–520

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R. R., Rohlf, F. J. (1981). Biometry. The principles and practice of statistics in biological research, 2nd edn. W. H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Southgate, T. (1982). A comparative study ofLacuna vincta andLacuna pallidula (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) in littoral algal turfs. J. mollusc. Stud. 48: 302–309

    Google Scholar 

  • Stancyk, S. E., Feller, R. J. (1986). Transport of non-decapod invertebrate larvae in estuaries: an overview. Bull. mar. Sci. 39: 257–268

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, R. E. (1981). Oceanography of the British Columbia coast. Can. Spec. Publ. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 56

  • Thomas, M. L. H., Page, F. H. (1983). Grazing by the gastropod,Lacuna vincta, in the lower intertidal area at Musquash Head, New Brunswick, Canada. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 63: 725–736

    Google Scholar 

  • Underwood, A. J., Denley, E. J. (1984). Paradigms explanations and generalizations in models for the structure of intertidal communities on rocky shores. In: Strong, D. R., Simberloff, D., Abele, L. G., Thistle, A. B. (eds.) Ecological communities: conceptual issues and the evidence. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, p. 151–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Waddell, J. L. F. (1973). Life history and ecology ofLacuna vincta. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler, W. N., Druehl, L. D. (1986). Seasonal growth and productivity ofMacrocystis integrifolia in British Columbia, Canada. Mar. Biol. 90: 181–186

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshioka, P. M. (1982). Role of planktonic and benthic factors in the population dynamics of the bryozoanMembranipora membranacea. Ecology 63: 457–468

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, C. M., Chia, F. S. (1982). Factors controlling spatial distribution of the sea cucumberPsolus chitonoides: settling and postsettling behaviour. Mar. Biol. 69: 195–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, C. M., Chia, F. S. (1984). Microhabitat-associated variability in survival and growth of subtidal solitary ascidians during the first 21 days after settlement. Mar. Biol. 81: 61–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, C. M., Chia, F. S. (1987). Abundance and distribution of pelagic larvae as influenced by predation, behaviour, and hydrographic factors. In: Giese, A. C., Pearse, J. S., Pearse, V. B. (eds.) Reproduction of marine invertebrates, Vol. 9. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, p. 385–463

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. A. Martel

    Present address: Malacology Section, Zoology Division, Canadian Museum of Nature, Stn. D, P.O. Box 3443, K1P 6P4, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Alberta, T6G 2E9, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    A. Martel & F. S. Chia

  2. Bamfield Marine Station, VOR 1BO, Bamfield, British Columbia, Canada

    A. Martel & F. S. Chia

Authors
  1. A. Martel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. F. S. Chia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Communicated by R. O'Dor, Halifax

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Martel, A., Chia, F.S. Oviposition, larval abundance, in situ larval growth and recruitment of the herbivorous gastropodLacuna vincta in kelp canopies in Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island (British Columbia). Mar. Biol. 110, 237–247 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01313709

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01313709

Keywords

Search

Navigation