Processes regulating larval settlement, vertical distribution, somatic growth and reproductive output of intertidal rocky shore barnacles

• Grant number: 08/10085-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: February 01, 2009 - July 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Augusto Alberto Valero Flores
• Grantee: Augusto Alberto Valero Flores
• Host Institution: Centro de Biologia Marinha (CEBIMAR). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Sebastião , SP, Brazil

Abstract

One of the few universal features of the intertidal zone of rocky shores is the presence of a dense cover of chthamalid barnacles, defining the upper midlittoral zone. These organisms are filter-feeders and their importance is central, representing an important energetic link between the pelagic and benthic environments. The ecological correlate in the Brazilian southeastern coast is the species Chthamalus bisinuatus. In this project, key processes controlling their populations will be examined. In the first task, the relative importance of physical and biological processes influencing larval settlement will be assessed. Meteorological and oceanographic variables determining larval transport will be monitored, and the rate of naupliar release and cyprid settlement estimated, over a period of 3 mo. A second task will be undertaken to test the effect of predation and recruitment in the regulation of density and vertical distribution of chthamalid cover, and identify successional stages in this habitat after experimental disturbance. Finally, manipulative experiments (transplants), sampling protocols in natural populations and monitoring of important variables of the water column will be conducted at different spatial scales, over 170 km along the coast of São Paulo State, to verify whether a bottom-up control of barnacle performance driven by nearshore oceanographic conditions takes place. (AU)

Scientific publications

(7)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

KASTEN, PAULA; FLORES, AUGUSTO A. V.. Disruption of endogenous tidal rhythms of larval release linked to food supply and heat stress in an intertidal barnacle. MARINE ECOLOGY-PROGRESS SERIES, v. 472, p. 185-198, 2013. (09/12645-0, 08/10085-5)

KASTEN, PAULA; TREMBLAY, REJEAN; FLORES, AUGUSTO A. V.. Mismatched seasonal patterns of larval production and quality in subtropical barnacle populations along a coastal trophic gradient. ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE, v. 224, p. 43-50, AUG 31 2019. (13/01446-2, 08/10085-5, 12/17380-8, 15/10327-2)

KASTEN, PAULA; JENKINS, STUART R.; TREMBLAY, REJEAN; FLORES, AUGUSTO A. V.. Evidence for enhanced late-stage larval quality, not survival, through maternal carry-over effects in a space monopolizing barnacle. Hydrobiologia, v. 830, n. 1, p. 277-286, MAR 2019. (13/01446-2, 08/10085-5, 15/10327-2, 12/17380-8)

FLORES, AUGUSTO A. V.; CHRISTOFOLETTI, RONALDO A.; PERES, ANA LUISA F.; CIOTTI, AUREA M.; NAVARRETE, SERGIO A.. Interactive effects of grazing and environmental stress on macroalgal biomass in subtropical rocky shores: Modulation of bottom-up inputs by wave action. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, v. 463, p. 39-48, FEB 2015. (08/10085-5)

BUENO, M.; MOSER, G. A. O.; TOCCI, B. R. C.; FLORES, A. A. V.. Retention-favorable timing of propagule release in barnacles and periwinkles. MARINE ECOLOGY-PROGRESS SERIES, v. 414, p. 155-165, 2010. (08/10085-5)

FREUCHET, FLORIAN; TREMBLAY, REJEAN; FLORES, AUGUSTO A. V.. Interacting environmental stressors modulate reproductive output and larval performance in a tropical intertidal barnacle. Marine Ecology Progress Series, v. 532, p. 161-175, JUL 21 2015. (13/01446-2, 08/10085-5)

BARBOSA, ANDREIA C. C.; GOMES, CRISTAL C.; PEREIRA, GILBERTO C.; BUENO, MARILIA; FLORES, AUGUSTO A. V.. Local biological drivers, not remote forcing, predict settlement rate to a subtropical barnacle population. Marine Ecology Progress Series, v. 543, p. 201-208, FEB 3 2016. (13/01446-2, 08/02030-6, 08/10085-5)