Support for the intermittent upwelling hypothesis using 10 years of barnacle recruitment data from a western ocean boundary in Atlantic Canada.

Recruitment is a key demographic step for the persistence of populations, so understanding its drivers has traditionally been a relevant goal of ecology. On marine rocky shores, coastal oceanography is an important driver of the recruitment of intertidal invertebrates that reproduce through pelagic larvae by affecting larval transport and delivery. The intermittent upwelling hypothesis (IUH) posits that coastal pelagic larvae are driven offshore under intense upwelling or to depths under intense downwelling, while weak upwelling allows larvae to stay near the shore, thereby facilitating intertidal recruitment.

Massive barnacle recruitment on the Gulf of St. Lawrence coast of Nova Scotia (Canada) in 2024 linked to increased sea surface temperature.

With the ongoing climate and oceanographic change, an increasing number of studies are reporting dramatic population losses caused by thermal extremes in intertidal habitats. Under moderate warming, however, populations can fare better in places where species normally experienced suboptimal temperatures. This article reports the massive recruitment of the barnacle on the Gulf of St.

Does foil-like debris impair barnacles by covering them?

On 24 June 2024, we detected foil that tightly adhered to an intertidal wall in Vigo harbor (Spain) during low tide. It covered multiple barnacles, potentially threatening their survival. We present photos of this novel debris-animal interaction and discuss possible effects that such cover could have on barnacles.

Musseling through: Mytilus byssal thread production is unaffected by continuous noise.

Anthropogenic low-frequency noise (ALFN) is a rising pollutant in the world oceans. Despite the ubiquity of ALFN, its effect on marine invertebrates is still poorly understood. Here, we tested how continuous low-frequency noise (CLFN), a substantial component of ALFN, affects the byssal thread production of Mytilus, a cosmopolitan genus of mussels with high ecological and economic importance.

Changes in the composition of invertebrate assemblages from wave-exposed intertidal mussel stands along the Nova Scotia coast, Canada.

Rocky intertidal habitats occur worldwide and are mainly characterized by primary space holders such as seaweeds and sessile invertebrates. Some of these organisms are foundation species, as they can form structurally complex stands that host many small invertebrates. The abundance of primary space holders is known to vary along coastlines driven directly or indirectly by environmental variation.

Characterization of three plastic forms: Plasticoncrete, plastimetal and plastisessiles.

Plastic forms, including plastiglomerate, pyroplastic, plasticrusts, anthropoquinas, plastistone and plastitar, were recorded worldwide. These plastic forms derive from geochemical or geophysical interactions such as heat-induced plastic fusion with rock in campfires, incomplete plastic combustion, water motion-driven plastic abrasion in the rocky intertidal zone, plastic deposition in hardened sediments and plastic bonding with tar. Thereby, these interactions can profoundly influence the fate of plastics in the environment.

Plasticrust generation and degeneration in rocky intertidal habitats contribute to microplastic pollution.

Plasticrusts are a plastic form that consists of plastic encrusting intertidal rocks. To date, plasticrusts have been reported on Madeira island (Atlantic Ocean), Giglio island (Mediterranean Sea) and in Peru (Pacific Ocean) but information on plasticrust sources, generation, degeneration and fate is largely missing. To address these knowledge gaps, we combined plasticrust field surveys, experiments and monitorings along the Yamaguchi Prefecture (Honshu, Japan) coastline (Sea of Japan) with macro-, micro- and spectroscopic analyses in Koblenz, Germany.

Frequent observations of novel plastic forms in the Ariho River estuary, Honshu, Japan.

Pyroplastic and plastiglomerate are novel plastic forms that are currently being reported from coastal beaches worldwide. Pyroplastic is burned plastic with a rock-like appearance. Plastiglomerate is a solid bond consisting of either melted plastic attached to rock (in-situ plastiglomerate) or a melted plastic matrix containing (in)organic material (clastic plastiglomerate).

Field observations in pebble beach habitats link plastiglomerate to pyroplastic via pebble clasts.

Plastiglomerate and pyroplastic are two novel plastic debris forms that were originally discovered on sandy beaches in Hawaii and the UK, respectively. While plastiglomerate consists of plastic melted together with rocks or pebbles, pyroplastic is melted plastic. Although both plastic debris forms were related to campfires, it is unclear whether they are related to each other.

Microplastic load and polymer type composition in European rocky intertidal snails: Consistency across locations, wave exposure and years.

Microplastics (<5 mm) are emerging pollutants in oceans worldwide. As such small particles are easily ingested, microplastics are found in numerous pelagic and benthic organisms. However, information on microplastics in rocky intertidal organisms and habitats is relatively scant.

Plasticrusts derive from maritime ropes scouring across raspy rocks.

Plasticrusts are a novel form of plastic debris which has only recently been discovered in Madeira Island, NE Atlantic Ocean. Plasticrusts consist of plastic encrusting wave-exposed rocky intertidal habitats and are presumably generated by waves smashing plastic debris against intertidal rocks. However, direct observations of this process are lacking and it is unknown which type of plastic debris the plasticrusts derive from.

Limpet disturbance effects on barnacle recruitment are related to recruitment intensity but not recruit size.

Intertidal limpets are important grazers along rocky coastlines worldwide that not only control algae but also influence invertebrates such as common barnacles. For instance, grazing limpets ingest settling barnacle cyprid larvae (hereafter cyprids) and push cyprids and barnacle recruits off the substrate. Such limpet disturbance effects (LDEs) can limit barnacle recruitment, a key demographic variable affecting barnacle population establishment and persistence.

First record of 'plasticrusts' and 'pyroplastic' from the Mediterranean Sea.

We report the presence of 'plasticrusts' and 'pyroplastic' from coastal habitats in Giglio island, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. These novel plastic debris types have only recently been described for the first time from Madeira island (NE Atlantic Ocean) and the United Kingdom, respectively. While 'plasticrusts' are generated by sea waves smashing plastic debris against intertidal rocks, 'pyroplastic' derives from (un)deliberately burnt plastic waste.

A 5-year study (2014-2018) of the relationship between coastal phytoplankton abundance and intertidal barnacle size along the Atlantic Canadian coast.

Benthic-pelagic coupling refers to the ecological relationships between benthic and pelagic environments. Studying such links is particularly useful to understand biological variation in intertidal organisms along marine coasts. Filter-feeding invertebrates are ecologically important on marine rocky shores, so they have often been used to investigate benthic-pelagic coupling.

First visual record of rare purple-colored dogwhelks ( ) on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.

The dogwhelk is a rocky intertidal gastropod of the North Atlantic coast. Individual shell color varies. Common colors range between white and brown, with darker dogwhelks being more affected by heat stress than lighter-colored conspecifics.

Unimodal relationship between small-scale barnacle recruitment and the density of pre-existing barnacle adults.

Recruitment is a key demographic process for population persistence. This paper focuses on barnacle () recruitment. In rocky intertidal habitats from the Gulf of St.

A 12-year record of intertidal barnacle recruitment in Atlantic Canada (2005-2016): relationships with sea surface temperature and phytoplankton abundance.

On the Gulf of St. Lawrence coast of Nova Scotia (Canada), recruitment of the barnacle occurs in May and June. Every year in June between 2005 and 2016, we recorded recruit density for this barnacle at the same wave-exposed rocky intertidal location on this coast.

Adult Prey Neutralizes Predator Nonconsumptive Limitation of Prey Recruitment.

Recent studies have shown that predator chemical cues can limit prey demographic rates such as recruitment. For instance, barnacle pelagic larvae reduce settlement where predatory dogwhelk cues are detected, thereby limiting benthic recruitment. However, adult barnacles attract conspecific larvae through chemical and visual cues, aiding larvae to find suitable habitat for development.

Predator nonconsumptive effects on prey recruitment weaken with recruit density.

We investigated the nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) of predatory dogwhelks (Nucella lapillus) on intertidal barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides) recruitment through field experiments on the Gulf of St. Lawrence coast and the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. We studied the recruitment seasons (May-June) of 2011 and 2013.