Regional patterns in reproduction and settlement

Species whose geographic ranges span over various regions with different seasonal regimes have different reproductive schedules. For example, high-latitude species might reproduce later close to the poleward side of their range, and earlier near the equatorward side. On the other hand, regional patterns of larval settlement are potentially less strictly dependent on a seasonal schedule, because currents might transport larvae to and from sites with individuals with different reproductive schedules. Settlement may or may not be temporally correlated with the local reproductive schedule.  

We are investigating timing of larval release and settlement in the circum-boreal barnacle Semibalanus balanoides. Our sampling locations along Northeastern North America include Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nova Scotia. Work includes asses regional patterns of larval release together with seasonal patterns of settlement. This project includes sampling in 2003 and 2004.

In 2019, Dr. Jane Weinstock began a portion of her Ph.D. thesis addressing whether the phenology of reproduction and settlement had shifted in response to rapid environmental change in the Gulf of Maine. Sampling using the same approaches and timings in Massachusetts and, with the help of collaborators Sal Genovese (Boston U.), Claudio DiBacco, and Kira Krumhansl (extended BENOL lab members, now both at DFO, Halifax), was extended to sites in Massachusetts (Nahant), central Maine, and Halifax in subsequent years. Dr. Carolyn Tepolt (WHOI) is also involved, and the project is benefiting from her expertise in genomic approaches to estimate larval dispersal and connectivity. This work is now part of Jane’s Ph.D. thesis in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program (Weinstock, 2025).

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Participants (2002-2004)

Nova Scotia

Beth Cameron. Oceanography Department Dalhousie University Halifax, NS B4h 4J1

Maine

Cathy Sherrill. PO Box 459 E. Boothbay, ME 04544

Massachusetts (Nahant)

Sal Genovese. Marine Science Center, Northeastern University. 430 Nahant Road Nahant, MA 01908

Massachusetts (North Falmouth, Oaks Bluff and Woods Hole) and Rhode Island (Mount Hope and Noyes Neck)

Jesús Pineda, Claudio DiBacco, Vicke Starczak and Lis Suefke. MS 34, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543

Sampling assistance from

Stephen Aubrey Rogue Wave Field Services P.O. Box 1949 North Falmouth, MA 02556

Connecticut (Avery Point)

Jerry N. Jarrett Dept. of Biological Sciences Central Connecticut State University P.O. Box 4010 New Britain, CT 06050

Photographs of field sites:

Sites in Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Sites in Nova Scotia and Maine