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Tanya McKitrick
Biology

Richard Emlet, Mentor

Does Size Really Matter? The Relationship Between Juvenile Size and Survivorship of Balanus Glandula Within the Inter-tidal Zone

A fundamental aspect pertaining to life-history evolution is the relationship between offspring size and fitness. In one study, A. L. Moran (1999) concluded that initial juvenile size tends to be positively correlated with post-settlement performance in different species of sea urchins, marine snails and barnacles. The majority of such studies, however, have been done in the laboratory, without considering the importance of environmental variation between microhabitats. This study explores the effects of larval size on juvenile survivorship of the acorn barnacle, Balanus glandula, in different micro and macrohabitats. By manipulating food rations during larval development, I can effectively create juveniles of different sizes. I will then place the juveniles into the field and simultaneously track growth rates and survivorship under different light and tidal height regimes.