An investigation into the settlement patterns and demographics of the barnacle populations at two locations on the Yorkshire coast.

Abstract

This study investigates the settlement behaviour of two barnacle species, Semibalanus balanoides and Balanus crenatus, at two locations on the East coast of Yorkshire, Hornsea and Withernsea.
This investigation looks into the affect settlement surface placement has on an individual’s success by analysing population data from the four aspects of wooden groyne posts. The depth of these posts into the intertidal zone is also considered.
Data was collected from three neighbouring groynes at each location and was analysed using the Kruskal Wallis and Chi-square Goodness of Fit statistical tests and graphical representation.
In keeping with current research, this study found that the aspect of the settlement surface appears to affect the success of the population – with the South and West aspects having larger populations and more adult individuals than the East or North. The results regarding zonation (upper, middle and lower intertidal zone) were not as conclusive, however, the data from Hornsea seems to show zonation does affect the demographics of the populations. There is also some evidence of barnacles actively choosing a potentially
beneficial site on which to settle, however, there was insufficient space to explore this idea thoroughly.