The Behaviour and Ecology of Austrolittorina antipodum and Austrolittorina cincta: Models for Marine Reserve Connectivity Studies
Authors:   , Vander Veur Jennifer 
Published: November 2021

<p>Determining the magnitude of dispersal and connectivity between populations has important implications for marine conservation. Species with limited dispersal capabilities exhibit restricted gene flow leading to isolation and, ultimately, differentiated populations. In this ecological study I investigated the gastropods Austrolittorina antipodum (Philippi, 1847) and Austrolittorina cincta (Quoy and Gaimard, 1833) to determine how ecology and behaviour influence the dispersal and connectivity of these species. The aim of this study was to determine population size and structure, settlement, fecundity, and adult movement rates. Methodologies included: population surveys, deployment of settlement pads and adult density manipulations, dissections, and a tagging study. These elements of a species ecology and behaviour can enhance or restrict population connectivity by: cohort partitioning resulting from habitat requirements, fluctuating settlement due to variable larval mortality or adult densities impacting dispersal, skewed sex ratios and effective populations sizes altering larval production, and adult movement leading to behavioural isolation or facilitating gene flow, along with other possible effects. Population surveys revealed both species had a Vermeij (1972) "type 1 distribution" (shell size increasing from the low to high shore), with the highest density of individuals on the low shore and the majority of mature adults on the high shore. Overall, A. antipodum was 16 times more abundant than A. cincta. Shifts to a smaller mean size of both species, along all shore heights following periods of peak settlement indicates settlers are potentially triggering competitive interactions or ontogenetic migrations in other cohorts.Settlement surveys revealed that peak settlement for Austrolittorina spp. was from February to April, declining at the beginning of March. Multiple peaks in settlement may act as a buffer limiting the potential of stochastic events to hinder dispersal during reproductive seasons. Settlement rates were not affected by adult density in control treatments; however, settlement was higher on pads deployed within adult populations compared to pads deployed adjacent to adult populations, suggesting the presences of adults has some effect on settlement. Fecundity results revealed A. antipodum to have more mature females than A. cincta, with males of both species reaching sexual maturity before females. Sex ratios of both species were skewed towards more females, with effective population sizes that included approximately 88% of each species population. A. antipodum’s larger population may be due to variation between the species' demographics, such as the distribution of mature females and juveniles leading to greater spawning success and juvenile survivorship. Tagging transplant/translocation experiments used to examine movement revealed that both species traveled similar distances. On average A. antipodum traveled 24.1m (±23.5m) and A. cincta traveled 18.7m (±16m) in eight months. There was no evidence of behavioural isolation occurring between low and high shore individuals. The wide ranging movements of adults indicated adults have the potential to maintain population connectivity on small scales. The findings of this study suggest both species facilitate dispersal with multiple peaks in settlement, large effective populations, and high adult mobility. Behavioural variation between the species appears to affect population connectivity, with the distribution of A. antipodum demographics potentially enhancing connectivity.</p>