Bay-Ocean Exchange Processes: Development and Application of a Meroplankton Tracer Technique
1998
Levin, Lisa A
The overall objectives of this research are to evaluate the distribution and influence of trace element contaminants in bay and coastal decapod larvae and to utilize elemental tags to determine larval origins and fluxes in San Diego Bay (SDB). Our research has focused on the uptake and retention of bay contaminants by larvae as well as the effect of contaminants on larval survival, rates of larval development, dispersal and recruitment. Long term goals of this research are to: (1) develop the use of elemental fingerprinting of individual larvae to evaluate sites of origin, (2) use this approach to assess the extent of larval exchange between bay and coastal populations, and (3) evaluate consequences of larval transport for population dynamics. Our objectives over the past year were to: (1) Examine concentrations of multiple trace elements in marine invertebrate larvae sampled from SDB, neighboring embayments and the nearshore coastal zone of southern California and to evaluate ability to discriminate site of origin based on elemental fingerprints. (2) Quantify the exchange of planktonic larvae sampled in situ during phases of tidally driven exchange between San Diego Bay and the nearshore coastal environment. (3) Examine the interaction of physical processes and larval behavior in determining the short-term dispersal, export and retention of newly hatched crab larvae (Pachygrapsus crassipes) and other decapod species.
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