RECRUITMENT PATTERNS OF SESSILE INVERTEBRATES ONTO FOULING PLATES IN THE BAY OF SANTA MARTA, COLOMBIAN CARIBBEAN

Abstract

Recruitment of sessile invertebrates onto fouling plates immersed for consecutive two-week periods during one year was found to correlate with the local climatic regime. For selected species was found that they recruited at significantly higher levels in certain local climatic periods, but that these periods are not necessarily the same for the different species. A conceptual model is presented in which the recruitment process is divided in a pre-settlement and a post-settlement phase. The model attempts to predict under which combination of global circumstances periods of increased recruitment are to be expected. Application of the model to the data at hand highlights where the research needs for the future are.