Fecundity, growth rate and survivorship at the interface between two contiguous genetically distinct groups of Semibalanus balanoides

Type Article
Date 2002-03
Language English
Author(s) Brind'Amour Anik1, Bourget Edwin2, Tremblay Rejean3
Affiliation(s) 1 : Groupe de Recherche Interuniversitaire en Limnologie (GRIL), Département de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal. CP 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
2 : Groupe Interuniversitaire de recherches océanographiques du Québec (GIROQ), Département de biologie, Université Laval, Ste-Foy, Québec G1K 7P4, Canada
3 : Centre aquacole marin de Grande-Rivière (CAMGR), Ministère de l’agriculture, des pêcheries et de l’alimentation du Québec, 6 du Parc, Grande-Rivière, Québec G0C 1V0, Canada
Source Marine Ecology Progress Series (0171-8630) (Inter-Research), 2002-03 , Vol. 229 , P. 173-184
DOI 10.3354/meps229173
Keyword(s) Semibalanus, Genetics, Selection, Fecundity, Growth rate, Survival
Abstract On the western coast of the Atlantic, according to the literature, 2 distinct groups of Semibalanus balanoides occur with a distinct interface near the Miramichi Estuary, New Brunswick, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On each side of this interface, the groups are characterized by clinal variations for MPI (mannose-6-phosphate isomerase) and GPI (glucose-6-phosphate isomerase). The present study was carried out to determine whether selection occurs at this interface, to establish how early in the sessile life period it occurs and to examine the selecting forces involved. Reciprocal transplant experiments of newly settled individuals to both sides of the interface were carried out. No significant differences specifically linked to source or destination were observed in growth or fecundity for the 2 groups at the sites studied for either control or transplanted individuals. However, differences in survival were observed; individuals transplanted south of the estuary showed lower survival than individuals transplanted north. An allozyme analysis of barnacle survivors for MPI and GPI, 2 alleles whose frequencies are known to vary abruptly in this region, indicated a change of allele frequency in transplanted individuals. The transplants’ allele frequencies came to resemble those of adults from target sites, while no change occurred in transplanted individuals at control sites. Taken together with previous results, our study suggests that selection occurs very early in the newly settled individuals (spat).
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