Abstract
A community of benthic invertebrates, including sessile adult-stage invertebrates, can negatively effect corrosion, deformation, and increased fuel consumption by attaching to artificial structures, a phenomenon known as marine biofouling. Investigating the relationship between benthic communities and artificial structures or substrates (to which the organisms attach) can help clarify the factors influencing marine biofouling. Therefore, in our study, natural (stone) and artificial (rubber, tarpaulin, and iron) substrates were installed in three harbors (Mokpo, Tongyeong, and Busan), and the structures of the communities attached to each substrate were compared. The total study period was 15 months (September 2016 to December 2017), and field surveys were performed at 3-month intervals. The three survey sites had significant differences in the structure of the sessile community present. In particular, Tongyeong was significantly different from Mokpo and Busan due to the continuous dominance of Cirripedia. When comparing natural and artificial substrate by sites, significant differences were observed in the community structure in all three surveyed sites. In Mokpo and Busan, colonial ascidians were dominant on natural substrate rather than artificial substrates; post-summer, Cirripedia coverage was higher on artificial substrates than natural substrate due to corrosion. Tongyeong showed a different pattern from that of Mokpo and Busan. After the summer, Bivalvia dominated on natural substrate over artificial substrates, affecting the differences between natural and artificial substrates. Our results demonstrate the recruitment patterns of sessile marine invertebrates according to substrate characteristics and can be used as basic information for biofouling management in marine environment.
Highlights
Introduction iationsMany benthic taxa attach to and inhabit a variety of natural substrates, such as mollusk shells, algae, and rocks
There was a significant difference in the environmental factors at each study site (p < 0.05), and this was considered to influence the differences in the community structures
The results of this study demonstrate that the effects of natural and artificial substrates on colonization were different for each study site
Summary
Many benthic taxa attach to and inhabit a variety of natural substrates, such as mollusk shells, algae, and rocks. Floating larvae live for a few minutes to several months before attaching to a substrate surface. Larval attachment is affected by several physical and chemical environmental variables, such as water temperature, depth, food access, substrate surface, and microtopography [3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. The abundance of sessile benthic invertebrates can be greatly affected by natural and artificial structures (e.g., the bottom of a ship, aquaculture facilities, and power plants) [10,11], and these surface differences lead to changes in the community composition [2,12,13]. Artificial structures can be negatively impacted as a result of corrosion, deformation, and Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
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