Meeting Abstract

73.5  Saturday, Jan. 5  Differential Transport Across the Surf Zone of Reflective and Dissipative Shores as a Determinant of Larval Supply MORGAN, SG*; SHANKS, A; MACMAHAN, J; RENEIRS, A; BROWN, J; GRIESEMER, C; Bodega Marine Laboratory, Univ. of California, Davis sgmorgan@ucdavis.edu

We determined whether differences in water exchange across the surf zone on dissipative and reflective shores regulates larval supply to intertidal populations. We surveyed zooplankton daily for one month relative to physical conditions inside and outside the surf zone at a dissipative and reflective beach near Monterey, California. Larvae of some species completed development nearshore while larvae of other species migrated offshore and back. Concentrations of zooplankters were much greater outside than inside the surf zone at the reflective beach, indicating that the surf zone may block onshore transport. Barnacle cyprids were an exception, suggesting that ontogenetic changes in larval behavior may facilitate penetration of the surf zone. In contrast, zooplankters were 1 to 2 orders of magnitude more concentrated inside the surf zone of the dissipative beach. Settlement of barnacles on rocks at both beaches was low, and settlement of sand crabs, Emerita analoga, was abundant only on the dissipative beach. Different hydrodynamics of surf zones at dissipative and reflective beaches together with larval behavior may play a major role in regulating larval supply along the West Coast.