Abstract
Ten sympatric rocky shore species and 3 brackish-water species of Sphaeromatidae were studied. Rocky shores were classified in terms of substrate and exposure to wave action. Although most of the rocky-shore species occur on all shore classes, vertical and horizontal distribution in each species, as well as densities, vary with substrate and wave action. A close relationship between distribution and breeding exists in the rocky-shore species; maximum differences in the vertical distribution of juveniles and adults occur, together with the highest reproductive capacities, in the species exposed to the greatest wave action. Tolerances to temperature, salinity and desiccation are wider in the species of brackish water and less exposed rocky shores, correlating with the greater variations in these conditions where wave action is reduced. Exoskeletons and pereopods are stouter in the species of more exposed shores, except where the microhabitat affords protection from wave action. In Isocladus armatus, geographic and seasonal variations in relative frequencies of colour forms correlate with differences in environmental temperatures. Under laboratory conditions, the colour forms show differences in tolerances to temperature and salinity.
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Communicated by G. F. Humphrey, Cronulla
This work was carried out in the Zoology Department, University of Canterbury, New Zealand; the text was completed in “Zoologisches Institut der Universität Kiel”, Germany.
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Jansen, K.P. Ecological studies on intertidal New Zealand Sphaeromatidae (Isopoda: Flabellifera). Mar. Biol. 11, 262–285 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401274
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401274