INFORMATION to USERS This Manuscript Has Been Reproduced from the Microfilm Master
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
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 06/10/2021 07:49:10 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/9367 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. A Bell & Howell information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE ECOLOGY OF A HIGH-LATITUDE ROCKY INTERTIDAL COMMUNITY: PROCESSES DRIVING POPULATION DYNAMICS IN KACHEMAK BAY, ALASKA By Michael Leslie Carroll RECOMMENDED: c / Y /t o w Advisor^ Committee Chair / ( f S . Y (.< 1 ------------ Graduate Prog^^f in Marine Science and Limnology APPROVED: ______ Dean, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Dpetn of the Graduate School Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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. Fairbanks, Alaska September 1994 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9524520 UMI Microform 9524520 Copyright 1995, by OMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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 ofSemibalanus balanoides and Balanus glandula was 0.13 cm . Recruit density of S.cariosus in the low intertidal was 4.32 cm 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 byNucella lima limited mussel Mytilus( trossulus) populations at some sites. WhereN. lima density iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. exceeded 100 m'2, mussel cover was less than half that whereNucella 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. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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