Temporal and spatial dynamics of a lower-intertidal lancelet population in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan.

ABSTRACT

The population dynamics of Branchiostoma japonicum, formerly known as B. belcheri, were Investigated from September 2003 to August 2005 in the intertidal zone at Takehara (Hiroshima Prefecture), Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The intertidal population appeared from spring to autumn and disappeared during winter. A laboratory experiment showed that exposure to temperatures below 1 degree C for 2 hours resulted in severe mortality. This low temperature corresponds to the minimum temperature in sediments in the study area. This result suggested either that the intertidal population collapses in winter because of low temperature, or that the lancelets escape from the intertidal to the subtidal zone. Throughout the research period, no lancelets smaller than 10 mm in body length were found, indicating that no larvae settled in the intertidal zone. The intertidal population is probably maintained by the influx of individuals from the neighboring subtidal population. The mean annual density of the lancelets was greatest (10.6 individuals/m(2)) at station 1 nearest the low water mark, and lowest (0.3 Individuals/m(2)) at station 3 furthest from the low water mark. In summer, the water content of the sediments was remarkably lower at station 3 (20.2%) than at station 1 (25.8%). Another laboratory experiment showed that higher mortality occurred from exposure to sediments with a water content less than 25% for 2 hours, comparable to the water content at station 3, suggesting that the spatial distribution of the lancelets upward in the intertidal is restricted by sediment dryness.