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What do barnacle larvae feed on ? Implications in biofouling ecology

DRS at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

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Title What do barnacle larvae feed on ? Implications in biofouling ecology
 
Creator Gaonkar, C.
Anil, A.C.
 
Subject Barnacle larvae
Balanus amphitrite
fecal pellets
macrofouling organisms
 
Description Barnacles are one of the dominant macrofouling organisms found in the intertidal region throughout the world. Among the different species of barnacles Balanus amphitrite (= Amphibalanus amphitrite) is a favoured candidate organism used in experimental studies. Larval development in this barnacle includes planktotrophic naupliar stages followed by pre-settling cyprid instar. Studies have shown that availability of food during naupliar development is of critical importance to successful metamorphosis of the cypris larva. Traditionally barnacle larvae are raised in the laboratory providing mono-algal cultures of diatoms as food organisms. Such a luxury is not a reality in the wild. Observations to quantify the food available for the nauplii deliberated by monitoring the faecal pellets egested by freshly captured larvae from a tropical estuarine environment (Dona Paula bay, Goa, west coast of India) influenced by monsoon and characteristic temporal variations in the phytoplankton abundance and diversity indicated that the percentage of defaecating larvae (an indicator of food consumed) was comparatively higher during the pre-monsoon season. Generally this season is characterized by lower chlorophyll-a concentration. However, the average number of faecal pellets defaecated by a larva remained constant irrespective of the season. Earlier work in the study area depicts temporal changes in phytoplankton community structure; diatoms dominate during the post-monsoon season whereas dinoflagellates dominate during the pre-monsoon season. These observations indicate a possible shift in the food available for the larvae. As the faecal pellets did not always have remnants of diatom frustules, it is possible to say that the larvae survived on food material other than diatoms. Settlement of barnacles on panels of aluminium in the vicinity was monitored throughout the year and peaked during the pre-monsoon season. It is thus possible to infer successful larval development and metamorphosis in this barnacle species on varying forms of food.
 
Date 2010-10-21T11:23:54Z
2010-10-21T11:23:54Z
2010
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, vol.90(6); 1241-1247
no
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/3735
 
Language en
 
Relation J_Mar_Biol_Assoc_UK _90_1241.jpg
 
Rights An edited version of this paper was published ? Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2010. All efforts have been made to respect the copyright to the best of our knowledge. Inadvertent omissions, if brought to our notice, stand for correction and withdrawal of document from this repository.
 
Publisher Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom