The Influence of Post-Settlement Mortality on Recruitment Patterns in a Soft-Bottom Habitat Introduction
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1988 The Influence of ost-SettlementP Mortality on Recruitment Patterns in a Soft-Bottom Habitat Erick Christian Zobrist College of William and Mary - Virginia Institute of Marine Science Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Marine Biology Commons, and the Oceanography Commons Recommended Citation Zobrist, Erick Christian, "The Influence of ost-SettlementP Mortality on Recruitment Patterns in a Soft- Bottom Habitat" (1988). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539617590. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25773/v5-4mj3-7158 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. > jo r THE INFLUENCE OF POST-SETTLEMENT MORTALITY ON RECRUITMENT PATTERNS IN A SOFT-BOTTOM HABITAT A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the School of Marine Science The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillm ent of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Erik Christian Zobrist 1988 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Approved, May 1988 e r f ZJ maz//Ph.D. ommi ttee^Chai rn&n/Advi sor Mark W. Luckenbach, Ph.D. g o Roger 2 . Mann, Ph.D. yet . Ernest Warinner I I I , M.A. L. Donelson Wriglft, Ph.D. DEDICATION To my parents, B.K. and Donna Mae. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... , v LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES..............................................................................................................v ii ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................................ix INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 2 METHODS. ...................................................................................... 7 RESULTS.................................................................................................................................13 DISCUSSION........................................................................................................................ 60 APPENDIX I ........................................................................................................................ 66 APPENDIX I I .......................................................................................... 69 LITERATURE CITED ........................................................................................................72 VITA ....................................................................................................... 78 i v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to a ll those who helped make this thesis a re a lity . My major professor, Robert Diaz, provided support throughout the course of this study. I am also grateful to all members of my thesis committee fo r th e ir review of th is thesis as well as th e ir patience and encouragement. I am most indebted to Dr. Mark Luckenbach whose contagious zest for science allowed me to tap previously unknown sources of strength. Diane Walker proof read sections of the manuscript. Keturah Johnson provided valuable guidance on graphics and p a tie n tly assembled many of them. I would lik e to thank the following fo r th e ir generous assistance in the field: Betty Bieri, Jean Fulton, Doug Huggett, Cindy Hutton, Eric Koepfler, George LaPoint, Roberto Llanso, Bob McCormack, Brian Meehan, Chip Neikirk, Willy Reay, Dave Stilwell, Sandra Thornton, and Zaki. Thanks to the graduate students in the Benthic Gang; especially my good friend Doug Huggett who I could "talk baseball" with when things got rough. Special thanks to K itty who constantly supported me and helped me -realize that were only human after all. This work was funded in part by a minor research grant to me from the V irg in ia In s titu te of Marine Science, School of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary. v LIST OF TABLES Table Page 2 1. Date, sediment parameters and X Log-1ikelihood ra tio for each station in transect (df=4; *, significant at a<.05; NS, not significant at a>.05) .............................................................14 2. Total abundance and number of species fo r major taxa collected in study ....................................................................................18 3. Abundance, to ta l and by sieve, of eleven dominants collected in the study. Asterisk indicates species with pelagic larvae. Taxon code: B-Bivalve, C-Cumacean, 0-01igochaete, P-Polychaete .................................................. 19 4. Results of a posteriori m ultiple comparisons of animal abundances between stations. Stations are listed in order of increasing mean rank abundance for each taxon. Stations not s ig n ific a n tly d iffe re n t at a<0.05 are underlined. Sample size (N) and probabilities listed are for a priori Kruskal-Wall is test. NS = no significant differences among stations detected by a priori testing ..................................... 25 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Location of sample stations and bottom morphology of the study site in the York River, V irginia (adapted from Wright et al., 1987) ....................................................................................................8 2. Bottom temperature (C°) and s a lin ity (ppt) mean and range fo r each sampling da t e ........................................................ 15 3. Asabel1 ides oculata. Weekly abundance (mean + 95% confidence interval) of recently-settled juveniles (125 urn s ie v e ) .............................................................................................................. 21 4. Asabel1 ides oculata. Mean abundance on each sieve size (500, 250, 125 urn) bystation through t im e .......................................23 5. Streblospio benedicti. Weekly abundance (mean + 95% confidence interval) of recently-settled juveniles (125 urn s ie v e ) .............................................................................................................. 29 6. Streblospio benedicti. Mean abundance on each sieve size (500, 250, 125 urn) by station through time ................. .... 31 7. Eteone heteropoda. Weekly abundance (mean + 95% confidence interval) of recently-settled juveniles (125 urn s ie v e ) .................................................................................................. 33 8. Eteone heteropoda. Mean abundance on each sieve size (500, 250, 125 urn) by station through t im e .......................... 35 9. Leitoscoloplos f r a o ilis . Weekly abundance (mean + 95% confidence interval) of recently-settled juveniles (125 urn s ie v e ) ..............................................................................................................38 10. Leitoscoloplos f r a g ilis . Mean abundance on each sieve size (500, 250, 125 urn) by station through t im e ..................................... 40 11. Mediomastus amibiseta. Weekly abundance (mean + 95% confidence interval) of recently-settled juveniles (125 urn s ie v e ) .............................................................................................................. 42 12. Mediomastus ambiseta. Mean abundance on each sieve size (500, 250, 125 urn) by station through t im e ..................................... 44 vi i LIST OF FIGURES (continued) Figure Page 13. G1vcinde s o lita r ia . Mean abundance on each sieve size (500, 250, 125 um) by station through t im e ........................ 47 14. Polvdora cornuta. Mean abundance on each sieve size (500, 250, 125 um) by station through t im e .................................... 49 15. Mulinia 1a te ra lis . Mean abundance on each sieve size (500, 250 um) by station through tim e .................................................51 16. Paranais 1it t o r a lis . Mean abundance on each sieve size (500, 250 um) by station through t im e .................................................54 17. Tubificoides spp. Mean abundance on each sieve size (500, 250 um) by station through tim e .................................................56 18. Leucon americanus. Mean abundance on each sieve size (500, 250 um) by station through time. ............................58 vi i i ABSTRACT Distributional patterns of recruiting benthic invertebrates can be determined not only by patterns of settlement but also by early post settlement m ortality. The re la tive importance of these two processes on early population dynamics necessitates an appropriate sampling scheme. Weekly samples were taken across a depth/sediment gradient (3, 6, 9, 12, 18 meters; 75% to 5 % sand) in the York River, Virginia, U.S.A. during spring, 1985. Sediment grain size and adult communities change along th is gradient. A small-mesh sieve (125 um) was used to capture the smallest macrofauna juveniles and aid in distinguishing between settlement and early post-settlement mortality of recruits. These data reveal species-specific patterns of settlement and of early post settlement mortality in determining