THE MOULTING CYCLE IN BALANUS BALANOIDES L
Open Access
- 1 February 1960
- journal article
- research article
- Published by University of Chicago Press in The Biological Bulletin
- Vol. 118 (1) , 31-47
- https://doi.org/10.2307/1539053
Abstract
B. balanoides molts once in every 1-3 weeks throughout most of the year, with maximum frequency in late spring and autumn. Anecdysis follows copulation in Nov. whether or not the animal is fed. The 1st cast skin after anecdysis includes the penis with all its tissues. Shedding the penis is a result of physiological changes associated with recession of the gonads, and is not caused directly by lack of food, low temperature, or the fact of copulation having taken place. Starved specimens exhibited a steady slowing down of molting activity. Rise in temperature increased the rate of molting in well-fed specimens, less so in starved ones. Though the molting rate varied considerably between individuals, it was not influenced significantly by tidal level nor by the presence of the parasite Hemioniscus balani. No lunar rhythm could be detected in the molting rate.This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
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