A spatial gradient in the potential reproductive output of the sea mussel <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mytilus californianus</Emphasis> |
| |
Authors: | Nicole E Phillips |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA;(2) Present address: School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P. O. Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand |
| |
Abstract: | Spatial variation in reproductive output from different populations within a region could have important consequences for
recruitment, and cascading effects on populations and communities of marine species, but is rarely examined over meso-scales
(i.e., tens to hundreds of kilometers). In this study, reproduction in the dominant mid-intertidal mussel, Mytilus californianus, was examined from sites spanning Point Conception, California over a 6-month period (March–August 2000). There was a dramatic
geographic pattern in the relationship between size and potential reproductive output that was qualitatively similar across
all 6 months sampled. Increases in allocation to reproductive tissue with increasing body size occurred at all sites, but
the slope nearly doubled at sites south of Point Conception compared to northern sites. The spatial variation in size-specific
reproductive output, coupled with additional spatial gradients in mussel density and size distributions, combined to increase
total reproductive output by over eightfold at southern relative to northern sites. This study highlights the need to explicitly
examine spatial patterns of reproductive output at these meso-scales, in order to better understand connectivity and source–sink
dynamics in marine systems. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|