Eutrophication is a current problem on coastal lines worldwide. Cirripedia like the northern acorn barnacle Semibalanus balanoides actively help to prevent high amounts of plankton in the coastal zones by filtering plankton out of the surrounding water. This investigation focuses on the movements of Semibalanus balanoides in comparison to increasing concentrations of plankton in the water (between 33mg and 110 mg particles per litre) which simulate eutrophication. The four factors feeding activity, pumping activity, isolation time and clogging of the feeding apparatus in relation to the plankton concentration of the water were examined. The results show significant interaction between pumping movement and the plankton concentration. The feeding activity, the isolation time and the clogging compared to the plankton concentration get no statistical results. Less feeding activity and an increase in pumping behaviour will not decrease the amount of plankton in the coastal waters which will increase the problems of eutrophication. The paper shows that more investigation on suspension feeders and their surroundings needs to be done to be able to understand the dangers fully.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hh-1255 |
Date | January 2008 |
Creators | Kunzel, Theresa |
Publisher | Högskolan i Halmstad, Sektionen för ekonomi och teknik (SET), Högskolan i Halmstad/Sektionen för Ekonomi och Teknik (SET) |
Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
Format | application/pdf |
Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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