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The Seasonal Succession of Appendicularians (Tunicata: Appendicularia) off Plymouth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

J. L. Acuña ,
A. W. Bedo ,
R. P. Harris  and
R. Anadón
J. L. Acuña
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Ecología, Departamento de Biologia de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, C/Catedrático Rodrígo Una (S/N), Oviedo 33071, Spain.
R. P. Harris
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, West Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3DH.
R. Anadón
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Ecología, Departamento de Biologia de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, C/Catedrático Rodrígo Una (S/N), Oviedo 33071, Spain.
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Extract

Earlier descriptions showed that the community of appendicularians off the British coast was mainly composed of Oikopleura dioica (Appendicularia; Müller, 1846) and Fritillaria borealis (Appendicularia; Lohmann, 1896), rarely by Oikopleura fusiformis (Appendicularia; Fol, 1872) and Fritillaria pellucida (Appendicularia; Quoy & Gaimard, 1833) and exceptionally by Oikopleura longicauda (Appendicularia; Vogt, 1854). Based on weekly samples collected during 1989 at a single station off the coast of Plymouth, we describe the first complete seasonal cycle of appendicularians in this area. The results suggest that rather than being occasional visitors, O. fusiformis, F. pellucida and O. longicauda are consistently present and abundant from mid to late summer. Moreover, the seasonal shifts in structure of the community of appendicularians in the area, as depicted by multivariate analysis, are consistent with those of the more southerly central Cantabrian coast (Spain). This suggests that they are viable populations rather than occasional expatriates from other areas.

Type
Short Communications
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 75 , Issue 3 , August 1995 , pp. 755 - 758
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1995

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References

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