Recruitment Pattern of Tropical Limpet Cellana testudinaria (Class: Gastropoda, Family: Patellidae) Living on the Rocky Shore of Ohoiwait, Southeast Moluccas, Indonesia

Abstract

Pola rekrutmen dari limpet daerah tropik C. testudinaria diestimasi dan digambarkan secara spasial untuk ketiga zona dari daerah intertidal dengan mempergunakan dua metode yang berbeda: menghitung langsung juvenil yang berukuran kurang dari 4 mm dan settlemen dari individu berukuran kurang dari 8.5 mm. Sebanyak 2402 ekor limpet diperoleh dari 12 bulan pengambilan sampel yakni dari Oktober 2001 sampai September 2002. Kedua metode tersebut memberikan hasil yang sama yang mengindikasikan bahwa rekrutmen tertinggi terjadi pada musim peralihan yakni pada bulan Maret dan April.

Kata kunci : Limpet daerah tropik, Cellana testudinaria, rekruitmen, level pantai, juvenil

The recruitment pattern of the tropical limpet C. testudinaria are estimated and described spatially for the three shore levels of the intertidal, using two different methods: direct counting of juveniles of the size less
than 4 mm in length and the settlement of the first < 8.5 mm mid-class juveniles. A total of 2402 limpets were obtained in 12 monthly collections (from October 2001 to September 2002). Both methods yielded
similar results, which indicated that recruitment was highest during the transition season (March and April).

Key words : Tropical limpet, Cellana testudinaria, recruitment, shore levels, juvenile