Patterns of abundance, growth and size of the tropical intertidal chiton Acanthopleura gemmata

Barbosa, SS; Kelaher, BP; Byrne, M

Patterns of abundance, growth and size of the tropical intertidal chiton Acanthopleura gemmata

Barbosa, SS Kelaher, BP

Byrne, M

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Molluscan Research, 2010, 30 (1), pp. 48 - 52
Issue Date:: 2010-12-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Barbosa, SS	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kelaher, BP https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7505-4412	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Byrne, M	en_US
dc.date.issued	2010-12-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Molluscan Research, 2010, 30 (1), pp. 48 - 52	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1323-5818	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/14794
dc.description.abstract	The population density and size-frequency distribution of Acanthopleura gemmata, a pan-tropical intertidal chiton and conspicuous bioeroder of carbonate substrates were investigated over two years at One Tree Reef, southern Great Barrier Reef. The population on a beachrock platform was dominated by medium to large adults. The size-frequency distribution showed little variation over time, with no evidence of recruitment. A study of individually tagged chitons indicated that growth in A. gemmata is greatest in small chitons and declines with increasing size and age. A. gemmata exhibited temporally variable movement and behaviour. The abundance of A. gemmata on the platform surface decreased significantly during the colder months. We suggest that this is because of behavioural change due to the chitons residing in the platform infrastructure during winter. Some tagged chitons remained in their original home-scar throughout the study, while others moved to other homescars. Our study shows that the abundance and behaviour of A. gemmata fluctuates through time and therefore its ecological impact is also likely to exhibit temporal variation.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Molluscan Research	en_US
dc.title	Patterns of abundance, growth and size of the tropical intertidal chiton Acanthopleura gemmata	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	30	en_US
utslib.for	0608 Zoology	en_US
utslib.for	06 Biological Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	05 Environmental Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences	en_US
dc.location.activity	ISI:000277126200006	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of the Environment
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	30	en_US

Abstract:

The population density and size-frequency distribution of Acanthopleura gemmata, a pan-tropical intertidal chiton and conspicuous bioeroder of carbonate substrates were investigated over two years at One Tree Reef, southern Great Barrier Reef. The population on a beachrock platform was dominated by medium to large adults. The size-frequency distribution showed little variation over time, with no evidence of recruitment. A study of individually tagged chitons indicated that growth in A. gemmata is greatest in small chitons and declines with increasing size and age. A. gemmata exhibited temporally variable movement and behaviour. The abundance of A. gemmata on the platform surface decreased significantly during the colder months. We suggest that this is because of behavioural change due to the chitons residing in the platform infrastructure during winter. Some tagged chitons remained in their original home-scar throughout the study, while others moved to other homescars. Our study shows that the abundance and behaviour of A. gemmata fluctuates through time and therefore its ecological impact is also likely to exhibit temporal variation.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/14794