Date of Award

Spring 1977

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Ocean & Earth Sciences

Program/Concentration

Oceanography

Committee Director

Anthony J. Provenzano

Committee Member

Ronald E. Johnson

Committee Member

Harris H. White

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.O35 B46

Abstract

The South Carolina Marine Resources Institute provided the author with 198 station samples containing 2,193 stomatopod larvae. These larvae had been collected during ichthyoplankton Bongo tows on five separate cruises aboard the Institute's vessel R/V DOLPHIN (February, 1972 to January, 1975). The larvae were examined microscopically and divided into early, middle, and late stages according to known growth criteria. The larval distribution was plotted geographically, by seasons, and larval density (larvae/m3) was graphed against distance offshore. Using these data, together with the circulation characteristics on the Carolina Shelf, significant distributional data appeared which supported the hypothesis that the stomatopod population was indigenous to the shelf and self-renewing. Correlations between temperature, larval density, and geographic position were computed. The values obtained provided a clear relationship between temperature, distance offshore, and larval density and indicated that larval density decreased with distance offshore and rising temperature. This statistical result supported the hypothesis that larvae were not recruited from the Caribbean and transported to the area by the Gulf Stream but were spawned on the shelf and dispersed by shelf circulation patterns.

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DOI

10.25777/wr1t-bw65

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