Variability in the density of groups within a patchy environment lead to differences in interaction rates, growth dynamics and social organization. In protogynous hermaphrodites there are hypothesised trade-offs among sex-specific growth, reproductive output and mortality. When differences in density lead to changes to social organization the link between growth and the timing of sex-change is ...

Ocean acidification affects a wide diversity of marine organisms and is of particular concern for vulnerable larval stages critical to population replenishment and connectivity. Whereas it is well known that ocean acidification will negatively affect a range of calcareous taxa, the study of fishes is more limited in both depth of understanding and diversity of study species. We used new 3D micr...

BACKGROUND Population connectivity, which is essential for the persistence of benthic marine metapopulations, depends on how life history traits and the environment interact to influence larval production, dispersal and survival. Although we have made significant advances in our understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of these individual processes, developing an approach that integra...

An indirect estimate of consumable food and probability of acquiring food in a blowfly species, Chrysomya putoria, is presented. This alternative procedure combines three distinct models to estimate consumable food in the context of the exploitative competition experienced by immature individuals in blowfly populations. The relevant parameters are derived from data for pupal weight and survival...

Oviposition site selection has been recognized as critical both for the survival and population dynamics of mosquitoes. Volatile substances released from larval habitats have been implicated as potential olfactory cues mediating oviposition. In our continuing studies of cues involved in oviposition site selection, we collected material from the larval habitats of Anopheles albimanus Wiedemann a...

Population studies of grass grub and black beetle have revealed simple patterns of population determination. Populations fluctuate in response to variations in soil moisture and temperature. The upper limit to population growth is set by density dependent factors (larval mortality of grass grub and variation in natality of black beetle). Parasites and predators appear to be generally unimportan...

7 Recruitment is a key demographic process for population persistence. This paper focuses on 8 barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides) recruitment. In rocky intertidal habitats from the Gulf of St. 9 Lawrence coast of Nova Scotia (Canada), ice scour is common during the winter. At the onset of 10 intertidal barnacle recruitment in early May (after sea ice has fully melted), mostly only adult 11 barna...

Maternal effects, such as per capita maternal investment, often interact with environmental conditions to strongly affect traits expressed early in ontogeny. However, their impact on adult life history traits and fitness components is relatively unknown. Theory predicts that lower per capita maternal investment will have strong fitness costs when the offspring develop in unfavorable conditions,...

With recent findings of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella in tributaries of the Great Lakes, information on developmental rate and larval behavior is critical to efforts to assess the potential for establishment within the tributaries of that region. In laboratory experiments, grass carp were spawned and eggs and larvae reared at two temperature treatments, one "cold" and one "warm", and track...