AVIS-IBIS

Birds of Indian Subcontinent

The Distribution of Balanus pallidus stutsburi Darwin, Gryphaea gasar ((Adanson) Dautzenberg), Mercierella enigmatica Fauvel and Hydroides uncinata (Philippi) in Relation to Salinity in Lagos Harbour and Adjacent Creeks

Publication Type:Journal Article
Year of Publication:1966
Authors:Sandison, EE, Hill, MB
Journal:Journal of Animal Ecology
Volume:35
Issue:1
Date Published:1966
ISBN Number:00218790
Keywords:Corvidae, Corvus, Corvus corone
Abstract:1. Lagos Harbour forms an environment where the water temperature is relatively constant throughout the year, and the chief variable factor is salinity. The annual variation reaches 34 per thousand in Lagos Harbour, but in the nearby Kuramo Water it is only 19.6 per thousand. 2. Balanus pallidus stutsburi, Gryphaea gasar, Mercierella enigmatica and Hydroides uncinata are abundant in the harbour during the early part of the high salinity season, but during April and May they all suffer a high mortality, and by the end of the low salinity season few of these species are found alive in the harbour. 3. In the Kuramo area all the above sedentary species survive throughout the year, and it is possible that the Kuramo area provides the parent populations whose larvae recolonize Lagos Harbour during the high salinity season. 4. The distribution of the barnacle, oyster and serpulids in the Lagos area varies both seasonally and spatially. Their mortality rates during April and May are considered to be higher than that normally caused by growth in a crowded situation, and other factors such as salinity or biological competition may be involved. 5. The spatial distribution has both horizontal and vertical components and there is evidence that Balanus pallidus stutsburi settles in regions of lower salinity than Mercierella enigmatica or Hydroides uncinata; Gryphaea gasar is usually situated between the barnacle and the serpulids.
URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/2699
Short Title:Journal of Animal Ecology
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