I studied factors affecting recruitment of the gorgonian Leptogorgia virgulata and the compound ascidian Aplidium stellatum onto a subtidal limestone outcropping. The recruitment of L. virgulata was significantly reduced by the presence of sand. The relative abundance of animals that recruited into three experimental treatments did not vary over a one year period. Transplant experiments showed that buried colonies grow rapidly, raising new polyps out of the sand. The experimental results successfully predicted the spatial pattern of L. virgulata recruitment on natural surfaces. Other experiments showed that recruitment is significantly reduced by the presence of benthic algae, but is not affected by the exclusion of large fish predators or the removal of established adult colonies. The results emphasize the importance of microhabitat variation in controlling the spatial pattern of recruitment. / Microhabitat also affected recruitment of the compound ascidian Aplidium stellatum. Almost half of the recruits appeared on vertical surfaces, which are rare in the field. In the lab, larvae settled on vertical surfaces with a two to one preference, regardless of how much vertical surface was offered in a particular treatment. However, this preference was too weak to solely account for the field pattern, suggesting differential mortality of newly-settled animals on horizontal surfaces. Temporal patterns of recruitment were associated with the presence of larvae in mature colonies. The presence of larvae correlated with egg numbers and water temperature. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-01, Section: B, page: 0049. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75756 |
| Contributors | GOTELLI, NICHOLAS JAMES., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 157 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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