Abstract
The extent to which the distribution of adults is influenced by larval settlement and post—settlement growth and survival was determined for the arborescent bryozoan Bugula neritina in the Gulf of Mexico. Most colonies live attached to blades of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum. Reproductive adults tended to occur on the distal (oldest) portions of blades. Settlement occurred mostly on the distal sections, but the distribution of newly settled juveniles was not as skewed toward the tips as that of large colonies. Settlement accounted for <20% of the observed deviation from a uniform distribution of colonies along seagrass blades. On both artificial and natural seagrass blades, the distribution of colonies changed only gradually with colony size, suggesting that seagrass growth contributed little to the observed distribution. Juvenile survival was estimated by outplanting newly settled individuals to the field in three separate experiments. In the 1st wk after settlement, °70% died, regardless of their po...
Published Version
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