Reproductive physiology, temperature and biogeography: the role of fertilization in determining the distribution of the barnacle Semibalanus balanoides

Marine benthic populations are dependent on early life-history stages surviving multiple population bottlenecks. Failure at one or several of these bottlenecks can alter species' patterns of distribution and abundance. The barnacle Semibalanus balanoides is found along temperate and sub-arctic shorelines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Over the past century the southern range limits of S. balanoides have shifted hundreds of kilometres poleward on both coasts of the Atlantic. Here we tested if temperature limits fertilization and used these data, along with those from previous studies, to create mechanistic biogeographic models to understand which potential population bottlenecks in the early life-history of S. balanoides influence its distribution and abundance. In the western Atlantic survival of new recruits is probably more important in setting the southern range limit than the effects of temperature on early life-history stages because fertilization, brooding and the probability of larval release matching phytoplankton availability were all predicted to be high near the historical range edge. Phytoplankton mismatch may partially explain the ephemeral nature of S. balanoides in some parts of the English Channel. Further south along the coast of France predicted brooding success was reduced in a pattern consistent with historical range shifts in this region. Within Galicia, Spain fertilization was predicted to be low near the southern limit, and likely plays an important role in setting this range edge. Mismatches between phytoplankton abundance and larval release in Galicia may further limit reproductive success within this region.