Ecological studies of colonized invertebrate communities on cultivated seaweeds in a typical mariculture zone, China

Abstract

AbstractThe invertebrate communities on floating cultivated seaweeds were studied by both field surveys and experiments in order to analyze community structure in a typical mariculture zone, Nanao, South China. Samples of invertebrates were collected from the water and the thalli of the seaweeds, Gracilaria lemaneiformis and G. chouae. The results showed that both species were rapidly colonized by invertebrates after being introduced into the mariculture region. The communities on the seaweeds were significantly different from those in the ambient waters. Invertebrate abundance was much higher in the seaweed than in the water. The high proportion of larvae indicates that these species are using the seaweed thalli as a platform for reproduction. Therefore, large‐scale seaweed cultivation is beneficial for colonization of invertebrates and shelters higher numbers of copepod larvae than in the sea. This drives ecological changes in the invertebrate communities in coastal ecosystems and facilitates interactions with other communities and higher trophic levels in the cultivated seaweed food web. We propose a conceptual model that summarizes the results from this study and guides future studies on the relationships between seaweed and the invertebrate community.