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The ecology of a high-latitude rocky intertidal community: processes driving population dynamics in Kachemak Bay, Alaska Item Type Thesis Authors Carroll, Michael Leslie Download date 24/09/2021 11:11:29 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/5131 THE ECOLOGY OF A HIGH-LATITUDE ROCKY INTERTIDAL COMMUNITY: PROCESSES DRIVING POPULATION DYNAMICS IN KACHEMAK BAY, ALASKA By Michael Leslie Carroll RECOMMENDED: Head, Graduate Program in Marine Science and Limnology APPROVED: Dean, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Desprbf the Graduate School ( i/a y 3 t, r f f y Date THE ECOLOGY OF A HIGH-LATITUDE ROCKY INTERTIDAL COMMUNITY: PROCESSES DRIVING POPULATION DYNAMICS IN KACHEMAK BAY, ALASKA A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Michael Leslie Carroll, B.S., M.S. B IO SC I Fairbanks, Alaska OH 541.5 S35 C3e September 1994 1994 ABSTRACT The population dynamics and interactions of selected key species relative to community structure were investigated in the rocky intertidal of Kachemak Bay, southcentral Alaska (59°35'N, 151°30'W). The roles of recruitment processes and predation in regulating intertidal populations were emphasized in this investigation. Species abundances, as indicated by coverage of space, were distinctly seasonal. Total cover typically exceeded 80% during the summer, especially in lower intertidal. Winter cover averaged 40-60%, with macroalgal cover varying up to six-fold between summer and winter. Barnacle recruitment varied both inter-annually and with respect to species. From 1991-1993, mean recruitment densities varied from 0.85-8.71 cm'2 (range= 0-71 cm'2). In the upper intertidal, time-integrated summer recruit density of Semibalanus balanoides and Balanus glandula was 0.13 cm'2. Recruit density of S. cariosus in the low intertidal was 4.32 cm'2. In the low intertidal, recruits often saturated the surface, resulting in density- dependent mortality in two out of three years, a phenomenon which did not occur in the upper intertidal where space was never limiting. Predation was a significant source of mortality for barnacle recruits only in 1991, a poor recruitment year. However, predation by Nucella lima limited mussel ( Mytilus trossulus) populations at some sites. Where N. lima density exceeded 100 m'2, mussel cover was less than half that where Nucella was rare (31% vs. 72%). High densities of N. lima were estimated to remove 60- 90% of mussels per season. Recruitment of the macroalga Fucus gardneri was almost 50 times greater in the presence of live barnacles than on bare rock surfaces or barnacle shells killed by heating. Recruitment in quadrats with tests of mechanically killed barnacles was intermediate. The results indicate that F. gardneri propagules are stimulated to attach by a chemical cue, probably a polypeptide, produced by the barnacles. Based on population dynamics and species interactions investigated in Kachemak Bay, the mid- to upper intertidal community at high latitudes is structured by recruitment processes. The mid- to low intertidal community appears to function similarly to the classical paradigm of regulation by competition and predation. The major exception is high inter-annual variability in predation relative to recruitment and competition. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................xi PREFACE...................................................................................................................xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...........................................................................................xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 2: PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KACHEMAK BAY REGION: AN OVERVIEW...........................................5 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 6 Physical Characteristics .................................................................................. 8 Biological Characteristics .............................................................................. 15 Water Column .....................................................................................17 Intertidal Habitats ............................................................................... 20 Literature Cited ............................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER 3: PATTERNS OF VARIATION IN SPECIES COVER: SEASONALITY, SUCCESSION, AND RECOVERY FROM DISTURBANCE.........................................................................................................39 Introduction .................................................................................................... 40 Methods ..........................................................................................................44 Study Sites ..........................................................................................44 Sampling Procedure ...........................................................................45 Statistical Analysis..............................................................................47 Results .......................................................................... 47 Vertical Distribution and Cover ..........................................................47 Little Tutka Bay .......................................... 56 Seasonal Variations in Cover ............................................................61 Successional Trends .................................................................... 63 Discussion ...................................................................................................... 66 Summary .........................................................................................................74 v vi Literature Cited ...............................................................................................76 CHAPTER 4: ROLE OF RECRUITMENT IN REGULATING INTERTIDAL BARNACLE POPULATION DYNAMICS......................................... 83 Introduction .................................................................................................... 84 Methods ..........................................................................................................89 Recruitment Patterns ......................................................................... 89 Abundance of Barnacle Larvae ........................................................ 93 Statistical Methods ............................................................................94 Results ............................................................................................................94 Timing and Magnitude of Recruitment ..............................................94 Factors Affecting Recruitment ...........................................................98 Population Regulation ....................................................................... 98 Abundance of Barnacle Larvae.......................................................102 Discussion .................................................................................................... 106 Summary .......................................................................................................112 Literature Cited .............................................................................................113 CHAPTER 5: PREDATOR CONTROL OF PREY POPULATIONS MEDIATED BY CATASTROPHIC DISTURBANCE: NUCELLA- MYTILUS INTERACTIONS.................................................................................... 122 Introduction .................................................................................................. 123 Methods ........................................................................................................127 Density, Cover, and Size Determinations ...................................... 127 Causes of Mytilus Mortality..............................................................128 Effect of Nucella Predation on Mytilus............................................129 Results ..........................................................................................................130 Trends in Mytilus and Nucella Cover ..............................................130 Sources of Mussel Mortality ............................................................137 Impact of Nucella on Mussel Beds ................................................. 137 Discussion .................................................................................................... 141 Summary .......................................................................................................147 Literature Cited .............................................................................................149 CHAPTER 6: ROLE OF BARNACLES IN FUCUS GARDNERI RECRUITMENT.......................................................................................................155 Introduction