Sapelo Research Application Form
Research Application ID: SINERR-2011-1 (submitted: 08/11/2014, status: completed)
Project Type: Grant-funded Academic Research
Application Title
titan acorn barnacle, Megabalanus coccopoma
Investigator Information
| Principal Investigator: | Sam Crickenberger | ||
| Home Institution: | Clemson University | ||
| Award Information: | NERR System GRF $ 59,661 | ||
| Mailing Address: | 132 Long Hall | Phone Number: | 843-568-9819 |
| E-mail Address: | scrike@gmail.com | ||
| Clemson, South Carolina 29634 | |||
| Co-investigators: | |||
Project Abstract
The titan acorn barnacle, Megabalanus coccopoma, is native to coasts extending from southern Ecuador to the southern tip of Baja California in Mexico and is a recent invader of United States shores. Although the adult stage of M. coccopoma is sedentary, the early-life history stages are dispersive, pelagic larvae. In order for larvae to successfully establish in a novel environment they must develop to a terminal larval stage and then survive as post-metamorphic juveniles. Temperature is commonly used to explain the range limits of many invasive species and may limit invasion success by limiting larval development or affecting subsequent life-history stages. I plan to find the thermal limits for larval development and survival for M. coccopoma and compare this to the distribution of adults throughout its range in the US Southeast to determine which life-history stage sets the range limits of M. coccopoma. To determine which life-history stage is more important in setting the range limits of this species I plan to measure the abundance, size, and fecundity of M. coccopoma throughout its introduced range along the US Southeast coast. These data will then be compared to larval thermal limits to development and water temperatures throughout the adult range.
Project Location
Locations within and surrounding the reserve will be examined for the presence of M. coccopoma. If M. coccopoma is present transects will be laid out and the abundance of M. coccopoma will be quantified in three to six 100 cm2 quadrats along the transect. If the barnacle is not found initially the location will be searched for 30 minutes or until all available hard substrate has been examined. If it is still not found after 30 minutes it will be considered absent from that location. Within each quadrat the size and fecundity of each barnacle will be determined. After assessing fecundity adults will be preserved in 95% ethanol for future genetic analyses.
GPS Coordinates for Study Sites
I will provide a GIS file describing my study sites (ArcGIS shapefile, Google Earth KML/KMZ)
Expected Start and End Dates of the Project
Start Date: 08/01/2011 End Date: 08/03/2011
Number and Frequency of People Accessing the Site
1
Keywords Describing the Project
Equipment Deployed in the Field
none
Plants and Animal Collecting
yes, megabalanus
Likely Impacts of the Project on the Site
none
Boardwalk Installation Plans
no
Expected persistence of site impacts after the research is concluded?
none
Files attached to this application
SINERR-2011-1_Documents_SapeloAbstract.doc (MS Word file, 108.24 kb, submitted 08/11/2014)
SINERR-2011-1_Documents_SINERR_GPS_Research_Form.pdf (PDF file, 125.69 kb, submitted 08/11/2014)