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NorthCoast's Regional Information
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NATURESea, land, river ECONOMYRegional PLACEBooks+ PEOPLESCommunity |
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Monitoring & Testing The snail (see below) drew my attention-- but the different age classes of barnacles held it --- then closer look at different age classes and coloring of limpets made me think this was a great site to monitor over time Test Hypothesis See below for limpet coloring |
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The limpets
are what is most interesting to me at Site 3—there appear to be several
different age classes – with wide variation in shell coloring/ camouflage—the
one above ‘8’ is perfectly ‘designed’
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Nucella
better not eat too much as limited supply barnacles. Later- they must have
heard me because emigrated away 10 feet by 2 days later |
Note
variation in limpet: ages colors & species (X)—; Hypothesis—small brown
snails (‘V’ = age 0) modify shell color to substrate as age |
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LIMPETS especially small brown
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Working
hypothesis: limpets are at first (after settling out of plankton and
transforming) colored dark brown and then adapt their shell to the substrate
they find themselves on (or is it genetically pre-determined?)--- I have
found exposed mussels with an unidentified small brown limpet before and was
thinking I had a new species |
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Looks like
they measure about 1mm each at this time.--- The ‘older’, larger Semibalanus
barnacle is about 8 mm |
Oh
yes, the barnacle spat |
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We can also see all
stages settling (area above the ‘here’) --- while below resolution photo --- those small
liner brown areas are brown sacs --- later stages show small, white calcerous
circular collar around the ‘brown sacs’ etc
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Created by LG on 5/11/2004
Last updated on Wednesday, May 12, 2004