Differences in energy partition between crowded and uncrowded individual barnacles (Balanus glandula Darwin)
The egg: body tissue ratio and shell: tissue ratio, when expressed in terms of energy, may serve as a good indication of the energy partition of individual barnacles. When comparing these two ratios between crowded and uncrowded individual barnacles, a decrease in degree of crowding was associated with: (1) an increase in the egg: body tissue ratio and (2) a decrease in shell: tissue ratio of the individuals. This appears to suggest a difference in energy partition in the barnacles with different degrees of crowding. Uncrowded individuals, which acquire an adequate amount of energy, could channel more energy into egg output and hence produce more progeny. On the other hand, crowded individuals acquire a limited amount of energy and apparently use a larger proportion of their assimilated energy in (1) building body tissue rather than egg and (2) building a taller shell so as to increase the general feeding area of the population. The reduction in reproductive output when population density is high (and vice versa) could be an important mechanism in population regulation of the species.