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How the distribution of colonies of the hydroid Laomedea flexuosa is limited to a narrow belt along the lower littoral zone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

N.N. Marfenin  and
S.A. Belorustseva
N.N. Marfenin*
Affiliation:
Moscow State University, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Biological Faculty, Moscow, Russia, 119992
S.A. Belorustseva
Affiliation:
Moscow State University, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Biological Faculty, Moscow, Russia, 119992
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: N.N. Marfenin, Moscow State University, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Biological Faculty, Moscow, Russia, 119992 email: marf47@mail.ru
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Abstract

In the White Sea the colonial hydroid Laomedea flexuosa inhabits a narrow belt of the lower littoral zone. How is so limited a habitat determined? We studied the time of planula release and the behaviour of larvae during the free-swimming stage and settlement in natural and laboratory conditions. Three methods were used to record the tidal-dependent dynamic of planula release: (1) plankton collecting bags around Fucus distichus macrophytes with mature hydroid colonies; (2) active stirring of Fucus with hydroids in a container with water, which is an old way to stimulate planula release; and (3) direct counts of the mature planulae in gonangia. The dynamic intensity of L. flexuosa planula release was investigated according to 3–4 phases of the tidal cycle. A moment of general release of larvae was shown to be correlated with a period of low water. Following the incoming tide keeps planulae in the littoral area. The planulae of L. flexuosa have a short period of swimming (less than 30 minutes), unlike those of Gonothyrae loveni and Dynamena pumila whose swimming period is about 36 hours. Quick settlement and tidal planula release could explain the strong spatial limitation in the distribution of L. flexuosa within the lower level of the intertidal zone. It is hypothesized that distribution over large areas is most likely by drift of colonies attached to detached seaweeds. Our outlook about the biological ways of ecological niche differentiation among marine organisms is broadened by the results of this study.

Keywords

distributioncolonieshydroidsLaomedea flexuosalower littoral zone
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 88 , Special Issue 8: Hydrozoans , December 2008 , pp. 1559 - 1566
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

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