Abstract
The central hypotheses of this study is that larval behavior plays a critical role for the dispersal and recruitment success in marine animals, and that different oceanographic environments can result in different behavioral adaptations within a species. The aim of the project is (1) to determine if the tidal environment affects behavioral adaptations in larvae over a small geographic area, and (2) to test if these larval behaviors interact with specific oceanographic features in a microtidal system, and affect dispersal, settlement success and connectedness between local populations, which in turn could explain how these local adaptations are maintained. The shore crab will be used as a model organism for larval dispersal of benthic organisms in Kattegat -Skagerrak to test 3 different larval transport mechanisms: (1) vertical migration in phase with diurnal sea breezes, (2) onshore transport of postlarvae by weather driven wind currents, and (3) ontogenetic vertical migration in estuarine circulation. These hypotheses will be assessed with a multidisciplinary approach in collaboration with physical oceanographers, using a combination of behavioral studies, time-series analyses, field surveys, and oceanographic modeling studies.
Sweden