Population Density, Mean Weight, and the Nature of the "Thinning Line" in Semibalanus Balanoides (L.) (Cirripedia Thoracica)

In much of the intertidal zone, space suitable for attachment and growth of barnacles such as Semibalanus balanoides (L.) is severely limited and competition for available space correspondingly intense. The situation is analogous to that well-known in plants, where a quantitative relationship has be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Crustaceana 1985-01, Vol.49 (1-3), p.215-218
Main Author: Hogarth, P.J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Demecology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Marine
Notes and News
Plant growth
Plants
Population density
Semibalanus balanoides
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Summary:In much of the intertidal zone, space suitable for attachment and growth of barnacles such as Semibalanus balanoides (L.) is severely limited and competition for available space correspondingly intense. The situation is analogous to that well-known in plants, where a quantitative relationship has been established between the populationdensity and the mean dry weight of individuals within a cohort. For a remarkably wide range of situations and of plant species, the "thinning line" is of the form: W sub(d) = kD super(-1.5) or log W super(b)- sub(d) = log k - 1.5 log D (where W super(b)- is the mean dry weight of a plant and D the population density of plants: the constant k reflects the units of measurement, and varies also between species.) From the consistency of the exponent, this has been described as the "-3/2 power law". To ascertain whether a similar quantitative relationship holds for intranspecifically competing barnacles, Semibalanus balanoides) was studied on the Isle of Cumbrae (Bute, Scotland) during early July 1983 and 1984.
ISSN:0011-216X
1568-5403
DOI:10.1163/156854085X00495