Data from: Testing adaptive hypotheses on the evolution of larval life history in acorn and stalked barnacles

Despite strong selective pressure to optimize larval life history in
marine environments, there is a wide diversity with regard to
developmental mode, size and time larvae spend in the plankton. In the
present study, we assessed if adaptive hypotheses explain the distribution
of the larval life history of thoracican barnacles within a strict
phylogenetic framework. We collected environmental and larval trait data
for 170 species from the literature, and utilized a complete thoracican
synthesis tree to account for phylogenetic non-independence. In accordance
with Thorson’s rule, the fraction of species with planktonic-feeding
larvae declined with water depth and increased with water temperature,
while the fraction of brooding species exhibited the reverse pattern.
Species with planktonic-nonfeeding larvae were overall rare, following no
apparent trend. In agreement with the “size advantage” hypothesis proposed
by Strathmann in 1977, egg and larval size were closely correlated.
Settlement-competent cypris larvae were larger in cold water, indicative
of advantages for large juveniles when growth is slowed. Planktonic larval
duration, on the other hand, was uncorrelated to environmental variables.
We conclude that different selective pressures appear to shape the
evolution of larval life history in barnacles.