Comparative physiology of the barnacle, Balanus amphitrite from the Salton Sea and the San Diego coast.

Click here to open her Thesis (pdf)

Katsura Matsuda's studies compare the physiological responses of the barnacle, Balanus amphitrite, along the shores of the landlocked Salton Sea with those of the same species along the southern coast of California. Her work includes measuring and comparing the respiratory, osmotic, and ionic responses of both populations to extreme environmental conditions.

Along San Diego Bay, B. amphitrite can be found thriving. Are they able to tolerate the kind of conditions that populations at the Salton Sea  survive?

The shore of the Salton Sea is covered with barnacle tests and fish bones. Because the bottom substrate of the Salton Sea is soft sediment, there is very little substrata on which B. amphitrite can settle. However, here on the shore, barnacles cover the rocks, large or small, until they, themselves are covered with thick layers of accreted salts.

Photo: S.G. Dunbar