The breeding ofBalanus porcatus(Da Costa) in the Irish Sea

Abstract

Balanus porcatus(da Costa) is a widely distributed northern species, being found in the Arctic Ocean as far as 80° N., and in the northernmost extensions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Its southern limits are closely related to water temperatures. Whereas on the east coast of America, where the Labrador current flows southward, it extends to Long Island (lat. 40° N., see Pilsbury, 1916), on the west European coast it scarcely penetrates the English Channel (lat. 51° N.). It is found in some abundance however in the North Sea, the Skagerrak and Kattegat (Krüger, 1927), the Irish Sea, and off the west coast of Scotland and Ireland. The present survey is probably representative of its breeding habits in regions near the southern limits of its range.