It is relatively easy to quantify because it fluoresces under ultraviolet light. If it works, it would help scientists follow year classes through time. S cientists find that settlement patterns vary a great deal locally and regionally in large part because of currents and wind. Still, they see that annual fluctuations in settlement in the Southwest Gulf of Maine and Rhode Island are more highly correlated than the two ends of the gulf itself. This is relflected in lower harvests.
Research also shows that wind-driven currents pile larvae up on windward sides of islands.
Population densities on the west side of Damariscore Island, for example, are substantially higher than on the east side, as a result. Last updated December 31, 1997. Gulf of Maine Aquarium. All rights reserved.