Bryozoans in fouling communities on artificial substrates in Kazachya bay of the Black Sea

Abstract

Study of the formation of fouling communities on artificial substrates is actual due to the development of mariculture in the Black Sea. Some representatives of macrofoulers are able to influence the process of colonization and development of cultivated organisms. Purpose of work. The main tasks of the study are the revealing the peculiarities of the formation of the fouling community on the experimental plates of the various materials in the environment of the Kazachya bay in the Black Sea and the role of bryozoans in the fouling community. Materials and methods. The experimental plates which were made from the different materials (plastic, aluminum, rubber, galvanized iron) were installed in September 2017 at a depth of 5 m in Kazachya bay (Black Sea). The plates were lifted every month during the year, a total of 480 plates were examined. Results. The peculiarities of the formation of the fouling community on the experimental plates of different materials in the Kazachya bay (Black Sea) were studied. Totally, 22 species were found in the macrofouling community formed on the experimental plates in the Kazachya bay during the year, comprising the following 8 taxa: hydroid polyps - 1, barnacles - 1, sea anemones - 1, bryozoans - 4, polychaetes - 4, bivalve mollusks - 1, tunicates - 2, macrophytes - 8. During the year, the succession of the fouling community of the experimental plates developed through the stage of dominance of microorganisms - barnacle Amphibalanus improvisus , and then - bryozoan Cryptosula pallasiana. Conclusion: the bryozoan Cryptosula pallasiana is the dominant species in the fouling community at four to twelve months old at a depth of five meters.