Spatial and temporal variation in settlement and recruitment of the intertidal barnacle Semibalanus balanoides (L.) (Crustacea: Cirripedia) over a European scale

Variation in the level of settlement and recruitment in the intertidal barnacle Semibalanus balanoides was studied using a hierarchical sampling programme. The effect of three spatial scales, 10s of metres (sites), 1000s of metres (shores) and 100s of kilometers (locations), was determined. The largest spatial scale represented the distance between four widely separated locations, Sweden, the Isle of Man, SW Ireland and SW England, covering a large part of the range of S. balanoides in Europe. Temporal variation was determined by comparison between two years, 1997 and 1998. The settlement period of S. balanoides varied in length and timing, being earlier and shorter at the most northerly location, Sweden. The duration of settlement showed little difference among shores within locations, but the pattern of settlement did vary. Estimates of total settlement throughout the settlement period and of recruitment at the end of this period both showed substantial variation among locations which was dependent on the year of study. There was little consistency in the ranking of locations between the two years. Recruitment showed significant variation at the lower spatial scales of shore and site. In addition, examination of variance components showed a high degree of variation between replicates within sites in 1997. There was a significant relationship between settlement and recruitment at three of the four locations. Across all locations variation in settlement explained between 29 and 99% of variation in recruitment. However, locations showed distinct differences in the level of post-settlement survival.