Abstract
Dendropoma lebeche is a prosobranch gastropod belonging to the family Vermetidae, which calcifies its shell on hard substrates in dense aggregates, forming biogenic constructions along the western Mediterranean intertidal habitat. It is an important ecosystem engineer and, due to its ecological value, is protected by international convention. The aim of this study is to investigate the mollusc composition and diversity occurring within Spanish vermetid bioconstructions. During the late summer 2013, three distant sites along the Mediterranean coast of Spain were sampled by scraping off the vermetid shells to study their associated assemblages. A total of 600 molluscs were identified within the classes of Polyplacophora (four species), Gastropoda (35 spp.) and Bivalvia (18 spp.). Multivariate analyses revealed significant differences in composition and trophic diversity of mollusc assemblages among the three sites, highlighting a clear geographical gradient. Overall, both herbivores (grazers and deposit feeders) and omnivores were the quantitatively dominant trophic groups, while carnivores (predators and ectoparasites) were very scarce. Our results point out that mollusc assemblages associated with vermetid bioconstructions are rich and diversified, both in populations structure and trophic diversity, confirming the important role of vermetid gastropods as ecosystem engineers and biodiversity enhancers in shallow coastal waters.
Highlights
Marine coastal areas and continental shelves are generally characterized by highly productive ecosystems with elevated levels of biodiversity
A total of 600 individuals represented by 57 species and 31 families associated with vermetid bioconstructions were recorded
Data shown in this study describe the role of vermetid bioconstructions in structuring the mollusc composition which was a poorly investigated topic until now
Summary
Marine coastal areas and continental shelves are generally characterized by highly productive ecosystems with elevated levels of biodiversity. In its shallow waters several biogenic structures (bioconstructions) play an important role in the high level of biodiversity, even though they are less known than those flourishing in tropical seas [4]. The vermetid shells are structural components of habitats (sensu Jones [11]) and play a multiple functional role: (i) providing protection to the organisms against the physical disturbance caused by water movement and the physiological stress caused by desiccation during low tide; (ii) constituting a suitable substrate for colonization as well as a refuge from predation; (iii) supporting high resources availability at different trophic levels [12,13]
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