Correlations between Halobates Distributions and Physical Processes at the Sea Surface.

• Main Author: Cheng, Lanna
• Other Authors: SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY LA JOLLA CA MARINE BIOLOGY RESEARCH DIV
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1997
• Subjects: Meteorology; Biology; *PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; *GEOGRAPHY; COMPUTATIONS; OCEAN SURFACE; THEORY; FILMS; TURBULENCE; POPULATION; SURFACES; CONTAINERS; LOW DENSITY; DIFFUSION; PACIFIC OCEAN; NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN; ECOLOGY; INSECTS; OCEANOGRAPHY; ARABIAN SEA; CYTOCHROME OXIDASE; HALOBATES; SEA SURFACES; Pacific; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA332294; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA332294

Five sea-skater species, each with a well-defined geographical range, are specifically adapted to live on the surface film. (1) Analyses of an 18-month time series showed that the range of Halobates micans and H. sericeus in the Pacific Ocean are generally separate. H. micans is restricted to a zone between 11 deg. N and 10 deg S., with amphitropical populations of H. sericeus north and south of this region. The separate ranges of the two species are associated with permanent large-scale surface circulation patterns. (2) Theoretical calculations showed that oceanic diffusion alone could carry Halobates from an initial point of origin to 2500 m in 60 days. Mutual encounter rates due to oceanic turbulence could be as high as 11/day even at low population densities (110/km2), while the encounter rate due to random movements is less than 0.6/day. An individual could find mates even when it had been carried long distances away. (3) Preliminary results from mtDNA sequences of regions of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) revealed that although North Atlantic and Arabian Sea H. m/cans appear to be closely related, there was high genetic divergence between N. Pacific and Arabian Sea populations.