Effects of short-term variation in food availability on larval development in the barnacle Balanus amphitrite amphitrite

The effects of short-term variation in food availability on larval survival and development of the barnacle Balanus amphitrite amphitrite Darwin were studied in the laboratory.We found that 0.5 and 1 d intervals of alternating feeding and starvation did not influence survivorship of stage 11 nauplii, but lengthened the duration of development by about 40%; survivorshlp of nauplius 11 initially starved for 2 and 3 d was >25% lower than in the continuously fed controls, and larval development was prolonged by >1.5 d.Four-day initial starvation in nauplius I1 led to 100% larval mortality.lnitial starvation also significantly affected feeding time required to complete nauplius 11.Although initial starvation in nauplius I1 affected larval survival and duration of development, those larvae reaching cypris stage all metamorphosed into juveniles.The minimum feeding time required for completion of nauplius 11 was extended by > 8 h for each day of initial starvation, for up to 2 d initial starvation.Feeding time required to complete individual naupliar stages also increased with larval development.Continuous access to food beyond the minimum feeding time shortened the duration of development.Our data suggest that B. amphitrite amphitrite larvae can survive short-term starvation and that such ability may help them overcome a patchy food supply in the field.However, sublethal starvation will lengthen the duration of development, thus increasing exposure to sources of mortality such as predation or misrouting.Since initial starvation in the nauplius I1 stage did not influence the metamorphic capac~ty of cyprids in the laboratory, sublethal starvation during larval development should not affect bioassay results.