Sessile Species Research Articles

Realistic losses of rare species disproportionately impact higher trophic levels

Predicting the consequences of changes in biodiversity requires understanding both species' susceptibility to extirpation and their functional roles in ecosystems. However, few studies have evaluated the effects of realistic, non-random biodiversity losses, severely limiting the applicability of biodiversity research to conservation. Here, we removed sessile species from a rocky shore community in a way that deliberately mimicked natural patterns of species loss. We found that the rarest species in the system act from the bottom up to disproportionately impact the diversity and abundance of consumers. Realistic losses of rare species in a diverse assemblage of seaweeds and sessile invertebrates, collectively comprising <10% of sessile biomass, resulted in a 42-47% decline in consumer biomass. In contrast, removal of an equivalent biomass of dominant sessile species had no effect on consumers. Our results highlight the 'cornerstone' role that rare species can play in shaping the structure of the community they support.

Epiphyte metapopulation dynamics are explained by species traits, connectivity, and patch dynamics

The colonization-extinction dynamics of many species are affected by the dynamics of their patches. For increasing our understanding of the metapopulation dynamics of sessile species confined to dynamic patches, we fitted a Bayesian incidence function model extended for dynamic landscapes to snapshot data on five epiphytic lichens among 2083 mapped oaks (dynamic patches). We estimate the age at which trees become suitable patches for different species, which defines their niche breadth (number of suitable trees). We show that the colonization rates were generally low, but increased with increasing connectivity in accordance with metapopulation theory. The rates were related to species traits, and we show, for the first time, that they are higher for species with wide niches and small dispersal propagules than for species with narrow niches or large propagules. We also show frequent long-distance dispersal in epiphytes by quantifying the relative importance of local dispersal and background deposition of dispersal propagules. Local stochastic extinctions from intact trees were negligible in all study species, and thus, the extinction rate is set by the rate of patch destruction (tree fall). These findings mean that epiphyte metapopulations may have slow colonization-extinction dynamics that are explained by connectivity, species traits, and patch dynamics.

Detection of introduced sessile species on the near shore continental shelf in southern Brazil

Invasion by marine species, often considered a grave threat to marine ecosystems, occurs throughout the world as a consequence of many anthropogenic activities. In coastal Paraná, many factors including shipping, aquaculture and the use of artificial substrates provide suitable environments for the establishment and rapid spread of introduced marine species. To better understand this process, the encrusting community was studied on polyethylene plates (n = 120, 10 x 10 cm) that were placed seasonally at fixed locations on the inner continental shelf to detect non-native species. Of the 62 taxa found, 40 were identified to species, 14 of which were native, 9 introduced and 17 cryptogenic. We found a new introduction while most introduced species were previously reported at a nearby estuary with an international port. Possible complementary explanations for these detections are 1) estuaries influence ecological processes on the inner continental shelf, 2) the study area is near the route of cargo and other ships entering the port, 3) other local vectors, such as hulls of fishing and recreational boats, and artificial reefs link the estuary to the offshore areas. Thus, not only are estuaries invaded by exotic species, but also non-indigenous marine species may be present in the open sea where they are likely to colonize artificial substrates.

Epibiotic sponges on the hairy triton Fusitriton magellanicus in the SW Atlantic Ocean, with the description of Myxilla (Styloptilon) canepai sp. nov.

In the present study we identified a total of 26 sponge taxa, to be added to the 4 sponge species previously registered, living epizoically on Fusitriton magellanicus shells, an abun- dant and frequent gastropod in the shelf-break frontal area of the Argentine Sea, SW Atlantic Ocean. The majority of the recorded sponges were encrusting living specimens of this gastropod, the most frequent ones being Hymedesmia (Stylopus) antarctica (20%), Clathria spp. (18%), Dicty- onella spp. (13%) and Tedania spp. (9%) We described one species, Myxilla (Styloptilon) canepai sp. nov., and extended the distribution of Clathria (Microciona) antarctica and Stelodoryx cribri - gera northwards. We also registered, for the second time after its description, the species Stelo - doryx argentinae. Considering that the study area is a soft bottom and the only available substrates for settlement of sessile species are either external mineralized skeletons of living organisms, empty shells or crustacean carapaces, we conclude that shells of the gastropod F. magellanicus play a very important role for settlement of sponge species in the area. Moreover, possibly only liv- ing F. magellanicus (not the empty or pagurized shells) are important as a settlement substrate be- cause the few specimens found in empty shells could be considered as rare occurrences.

Diversity and cover of a sessile animal assemblage does not predict its associated mobile fauna

Habitat-forming organisms often determine the structural properties and food resources available to a wide diversity of associated mobile species. Sessile invertebrate assemblages on marine hard substrates support an abundant fauna of mobile invertebrates whose associations with traits of their host assemblages are poorly known. To assess how changes to habitat-forming species are likely to affect their associated mobile fauna, the relationships between abundance, diversity and composition of mobile invertebrates and the diversity, cover and composition of the sessile assemblages they use as habitat were quantified in Sydney Harbour, Australia (33°50′S, 151°16′E). Similar compositions of sessile species were more likely to share a similar composition of mobile species, but univariate measures of the habitat (percent cover, species and functional diversity, prevalence of non-indigenous species) did not predict variation in associated mobile assemblages. These results demonstrate that in this habitat it is difficult to predict the diversity of marine assemblages based on common surrogate measures of biodiversity.

Adaptation of forest trees to climate change

There is an urgent need to determine the adaptive potential of forest trees given their importance in ecosystem functioning and the associated ecological and economic services they provide. Indeed, underestimating rapid adaptation could lead to unnecessary recommendations such as the use of non-native (and perhaps non-adapted) genetic material for reforestation. Overestimating adaptive potential could have detrimental consequences if population decline massively and prove enable to regenerate. A critical step to study individual’s and specie’s responses to variation in climate is to examine the basis of adaptation (at the phenotypic and molecular levels) under natural conditions and across multiple years. In this context, these sessile and long lived species have emerged as a model system for studying adaptation into the wild. Whether forest trees will be able to adapt in situ fast enough to outstrip the rate of such modifications relative to their longevity is still largely debated and remains an open question. The objectives of this presentation are three fold: i/ provide an overview of the concept of ADAPTATION: a process whereby a genotype or a population becomes better suited to its habitat. Adaptation to climate change can occur through phenotypic plasticity (a mechanism by which individuals can withstand large environmental fluctuation without genetic change) and evolution (i.e. response to natural selection pressure when the level of standing genetic diversity or diversity introduced by gene flow permits it). ii/ provide some clues (from historical and contemporary data) on how closely can forest tree adaptation be expected to track climate change as rapid as envisioned for the future. They have high phenotypic plasticity which allows them to tolerate wide environmental variations during their lifetime. Besides, there are some evidence against the idea that rapid environmental changes overwhelms evolutionary processes preventing adaptation to local environments. iii/ review how genes that matter for adaptation can be detected using 'omics technology in combination with population and quantitative genetics approaches.

Invading the Adriatic: spatial patterns of marine alien species across the Ionian–Adriatic boundary

AB Aquatic Biology Contact the journal Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AB 13:107-118 (2011) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00357 Invading the Adriatic: spatial patterns of marine alien species across the Ionian–Adriatic boundary Stelios Katsanevakis1,*, Argyro Zenetos1, Vesna Mačić2, Sajmir Beqiraj3, Dimitrios Poursanidis4,5, Lefter Kashta6 1Institute of Marine Biological Resources, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavyssos 19013, Greece 2Institute of Marine Biology, Kotor, Montenegro 3Biology Department, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Bulevardi Zog I, Tirana, Albania 4WWF Hellas, Knossos, Heraklion, Crete, Greece 5Department of Marine Sciences, University of the Aegean, Mytilene 81100, Greece 6Research Center for Flora and Fauna, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Bulevardi Zog I, Tirana, Albania *Email: stelios@katsanevakis.com ABSTRACT: An important pathway of introduction of alien marine species in the Adriatic seems to be the northward expansion of species already established in the Ionian Sea, aided by the East Adriatic Current. We modelled the occupancy of alien marine species in the upper infralittoral zone of rocky bottoms across the Ionian–Adriatic border (Albanian and Montenegrin coastlines), based on underwater visual survey data. A method that took into account imperfect detection of the target species was applied to make unbiased occupancy estimations, based on a multi-model inference approach. A total of 6 alien species were found during the survey (in decreasing order of occupancy): Caulerpa racemosa, Percnon gibbesi, Ganonema farinosum, Lophocladia lallemandii, Asparagopsis taxiformis and Pinctada radiata. There was a general pattern of declining occupancy from northern Ionian Albanian coastal waters towards the southeastern Adriatic coastline. Possible reasons for this pattern are: (1) the invasion of some species from the northern Ionian Sea is still in progress and the limit of the current distributional range falls within or near the study area; (2) the lower temperatures in the Adriatic Sea restrict the northward expansion of thermophilic alien species; and (3) the part of Albania north of the Otranto Strait is characterized by sandy/muddy coasts, large estuarine areas and substantial freshwater input, creating a barrier for expansion of sessile species. There is a pool of 77 species established in the central Mediterranean but not yet observed in the Adriatic Sea. Among these, 14 species are present in the Greek Ionian Sea and may be considered as the most probable newcomers to the Adriatic Sea in the near future. KEY WORDS: Alien · Biological invasion · Occupancy · Detectability · Adriatic Sea · Ionian Sea · ­Albania · Montenegro Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Katsanevakis S, Zenetos A, Mačić V, Beqiraj S, Poursanidis D, Kashta L (2011) Invading the Adriatic: spatial patterns of marine alien species across the Ionian–Adriatic boundary. Aquat Biol 13:107-118. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00357 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AB Vol. 13, No. 2. Online publication date: August 04, 2011 Print ISSN: 1864-7782; Online ISSN: 1864-7790 Copyright © 2011 Inter-Research.

Phylogeography of the red coral (Corallium rubrum): inferences on the evolutionary history of a temperate gorgonian

The red coral Corallium rubrum (Cnidaria, Octocorallia) is an exploited, long-lived sessile species from the Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent coastline in the Atlantic Ocean. Surveys of genetic variation using microsatellites have shown that populations of C. rubrum are characterized by strong differentiation at the local scale but a study of the phylogeography of this species was still lacking. Here, we used seven polymorphic microsatellite loci, together with sequence data from an intron of the elongation factor 1 (EF1) gene, to investigate the genetic structure of C. rubrum across its geographical range in the western Mediterranean Sea and in the Adriatic Sea. The EF1 sequences were also used to analyse the consequences of demographic fluctuations linked with past environmental change. Clustering analysis with microsatellite loci highlighted three to seven genetic groups with the distinction of North African and Adriatic populations; this distinction appeared significant with AMOVA and differentiation tests. Microsatellite and EF1 data extended the isolation by distance pattern previously observed for this species at the western Mediterranean scale. EF1 sequences confirmed the genetic differentiation observed between most samples with microsatellites. A statistical parsimony network of EF1 haplotypes provided no evidence of high sequence divergence among regions, suggesting no long-term isolation. Selective neutrality tests on microsatellites and EF1 were not significant but should be interpreted with caution in the case of EF1 because of the low sample sizes for this locus. Our results suggest that recent Quaternary environmental fluctuations had a limited impact on the genetic structure of C. rubrum.

남해 장목만에서 PVC판 투입시기와 투입기간에 따른 부착생물군집 구조

남해안 내만해역에서 인공부착판 투입시기와 투입기간에 따른 군집구조의 차이를 보고자 하였다. 거제도 장목만에서 2007년 3월에서 10월에 이르는 기간 동안 매월 PVC 재질의 인공부착판을 수심 50 cm에 수직방향으로 투입하였다. 2007년 11월에 저서동물이 부착된 PVC판을 회수하여 부착생물군집을 조사한 결과 지중해담치는 3월에서 7월에 투입된 부착판에서 우점종으로 출현하였고, 석회관갯지렁이와 주름멍게는 5월 이후 10월까지 투입한 부착판에서 우점종으로 남았다. 주걱따개비와 다발이끼벌레류는 6월-9월 사이에 투입한 부착판에서 우점하였다. 실험종료 시에 회수한 부착판에서의 분류군별 개체수와 습중량은 지중해담치의 우점으로 3월-7월 사이에 투입된 부착판에서 최대치를 보였다. 종간 경쟁으로 인하여 최대가입시기와 우점시기가 일치하지 않은 부착생물들이 나타났고, 투입기간과 생물량이나 개체수 간에는 가입시기의 차이로 인하여 뚜렷한 관련성을 보이지 않았다. 투입시기별 및 투입기간별로 특정 저서생물이 우점종으로 출현하였는데, 이는 유생 공급을 결정하는 가입시기와 나중에 유입되는 유생을 배제하는 종간경쟁에 의해 최종 부착생물군집의 조성에 중요한 결정 요인이 되는 것으로 나타났다. This study was conducted to compare the species composition of sessile organisms on the artificial substrates of PVC submerged at different time intervals and duration in Jangmok Bay, Geoje Island, southern coast of Korea. Three PVC plates were submerged at one month interval from March to October and retrieved in November, 2007. A mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis exclusively occupied the artificial substrates submerged from March to April and occurred as a dominant species to July. An ascidian, Styela plicata occurred as a dominant sessile species from May to August. Balanus amphtrite, Bugula sp., and hydrozoans occurred as dominant species on the plates submerged from July to September. There was a mis-match between the peak time of settlement and dominance of sessile organisms due to the interspecies competitions when the PVC plates were retrieved in November. There was no clear relationship between submerged duration and the abundance of sessile organisms due to the different settlement period. M. galloprovincialis seemed to be a strong competitor which could exclude the previous recruiters of macroalgae by overgrowth and occupy the substrate surface and maintain its high population density by preventing the settlement of other species until late autumn. These results suggested that the composition of sessile organisms in vacant hard substrates could be determined by the combined effects of supply-timing of larvae and post-settlement competitions.

Reproducibility in simulation experiments: Comment on Munguia et al. (2010)

In a recent article, Munguia et al. (2010; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 413:229-240) presented a spatially explicit mathematical model of competition among 4 sessile species of benthic invertebrates. We argue that, based on the description of the model, it is impossible to repeat the analysis without making numerous guesses and assumptions. Furthermore, the results do not correspond to the model as it is described. We highlight elements of the model formulation and description relating to disper- sal, colonization, and competition that, if clarified, would help the reader to understand, evaluate, and extend the results of this study.

Seasonal patterns of colonization and early succession on sublittoral rocky cliffs

Understanding the mechanisms of ecological succession is fundamental to predict recovery patterns and restore the increasingly disturbed marine habitats; the season in which disturbance occurs severely affects these processes but this factor has not been thoroughly studied in sublittoral cliffs. Thus, seasonal patterns of benthic colonization and succession were investigated on a temperate rocky cliff (Aegean Sea, eastern Mediterranean). Cement panels, seasonally installed on the rocky substratum at 25–30 m depth, were sampled every 3 months over a 1-year period each, yielding 40 floral and 158 animal species. Diversity, cover and abundance were very low at the initial immersion period and increased toward the late periods. The immersion period and the season of installation had a strong effect on diversity and abundance; decapods showed increased colonization on panels installed in spring, and polychaetes on hibernal panels. The vagile fauna responded to the increasing habitat complexity offered by the development of algal turfs and sessile species. Community structure remained highly dynamic up to the end of the experimental installation and quite different from that of the surrounding benthic community. Two stages of succession, considering vagile and sessile biota, either separately or altogether, were observed over immersion periods; the first was characterized by high variability that can be related to the presence of different colonizers in different seasons, whereas the second, exhibited higher species richness and abundance and showed increased endogenous similarity. Thus, regardless of the season colonization started the developed communities converged toward a common structure, after one year of immersion. An exception was hibernal installation, in which the 12-month immersion period was recognized as a third stage characterized by increased diversity also showing an increased similarity with the adjacent algal community; this suggests that benthic colonization in such environments is faster when succession starts in winter.

Species richness and diversity in different functional groups across environmental stress gradients: a model for marine rocky shores

We present a model predicting how the species richness and diversity within benthic functional groups should vary across the full environmental stress gradient across which a regional biota from marine rocky shores can occur. Built upon previous models, our model makes predictions for sessile species (macroalgae and filter feeders), herbivores, and carnivores. We tested some of its predictions by surveying vertical (intertidal elevation) and horizontal (wave exposure and ice scour) stress gradients in northern Nova Scotia, Canada. Because of harsh winter conditions, these coasts only depict approximately intermediate-to-high yearly levels of stress that the cold-temperate, rocky intertidal biota from the northwestern Atlantic can experience. The observed trends matched predictions for sessile species in 75% of the studied gradients, and showed a moderate agreement for herbivores and carnivores only when they were combined as mobile consumers. Agreement meant that both richness and diversity increased from the most stressful to the most benign habitats that can be found in northern Nova Scotia. Also as predicted, sessile species generally showed a faster rate of increase in richness than mobile consumers. Our model also predicted a higher overall richness for sessile species than for mobile consumers, which was true by a factor of 3. Therefore, our model may constitute a useful tool to understanding community composition as a function of abiotic stress, which may in turn facilitate studies on community functioning. Model predictions for lower stress ranges could be tested on more southern shores where the same regional biota occurs.

Impact of oceanic upwelling on morphometric and molecular indices of an intertidal fish Scartichthys viridis (Blenniidae)

Upwelling is a determinant factor for intertidal community structure on all coasts where it occurs. Most of the evidence has been obtained from sessile species or those with limited mobility and it is still unknown whether nutrients are transferred from primary producers to upper trophic levels in upwelling systems. We studied a fish species from two localities in Central Chile, Quintay, and Las Cruces, the former affected by upwelling and the latter not as evidenced by sea surface temperatures. Specimens of the herbivorous fish Scartichthys viridis, from the two sites were compared for weight–length relationships and RNA : DNA ratio in muscle tissue. The results showed that in the upwelling zone, fish increase their weight faster and have greater RNA : DNA ratios than those from the non-upwelling zone. This suggests that nutrient subsidies can alter the performance of key intertidal vertebrates such as S. viridis. The consequences of this effect on community structure and dynamics are not known.

Dynamics of species interaction strength in space, time and with developmental stage.

Quantifying species interaction strengths enhances prediction of community dynamics, but variability in the strength of species interactions in space and time complicates accurate prediction. Interaction strengths can vary in response to density, indirect effects, priority effects or a changing environment, but the mechanism(s) causing direction and magnitudes of change are often unclear. We designed an experiment to characterize how environmental factors influence the direction and the strength of priority effects between sessile species. We estimated per capita non-trophic effects of barnacles (Semibalanus balanoides) on newly settled germlings of the fucoid, Ascophyllum nodosum, in the presence and absence of consumers in experiments on rocky shores throughout the Gulf of Maine, USA. Per capita effects on germlings varied among environments and barnacle life stages, and these interaction strengths were largely unaltered by changing consumer abundance. Whereas previous evidence shows adult barnacles facilitate fucoids, here, we show that recent settlers and established juveniles initially compete with germlings. As barnacles mature, they switch to become facilitators of fucoids. Consumers caused variable mortality of germlings through time comparable to that from competition. Temporally variable effects of interactors (e.g. S. balanoides), or spatial variation in their population structure, in different regions differentially affect target populations (e.g. A. nodosum). This may affect abundance of critical stages and the resilience of target species to environmental change in different geographical regions.

Quantifying Hypoxia Impacts on an Estuarine Demersal Community Using a Hierarchical Ensemble Approach

In coastal marine ecosystems, hypoxia and anoxia are emerging as growing threats whose ecological impacts are difficult to ascertain because of the frequent lack of adequate references for comparison. We applied conventional and hierarchical ensemble analyses to evaluate the weight of evidence in support of hypoxia impacts on local densities of individual and groups of demersal fish and invertebrate species in Hood Canal, WA, which is subject to seasonal hypoxia in its southern reaches. Central to our approach was a sample design and analysis scheme that was designed specifically to consider multiple alternative hypotheses regarding factors that dictate local species’ densities. We anticipated persistent effects of hypoxia (felt even when seasonal hypoxia was absent) on species densities would be most pronounced for sessile species, but that immediate effects (felt only when seasonal hypoxia was present) would dominate for mobile species. Conventional analysis provided strong evidence that densities of sessile species were persistently reduced in the hypoxic-impacted site, but did not indicate widespread immediate density responses during hypoxic events among mobile species. The absence of strong weights of evidence for hypoxia effects was partly a consequence of alternative hypotheses that better explained spatial-temporal variation in species’ densities. The hierarchical ensemble analysis improved the precision of species-specific effect sizes, and also allowed us to make inferences about the response of aggregated groups of species. The estimated mean density reductions during hypoxic events (dissolved oxygen ~2 mg/l) ranged from 73 to 98% among mobile invertebrates, benthic, and benthopelagic fishes. The large reduction in benthic and benthopelagic species suggests substantial effects of hypoxia in Hood Canal even at oxygen levels that were marginally hypoxic. Understanding the full ecological consequence of hypoxia will require a greater knowledge on the spatial extent of distributional shifts and their effects on competitive and predator–prey interactions.

Modeling of priority effects and species dominance in Long Island Sound benthic communities

Spatially structured communities are common in many systems, including the marine benthos where sessile species compete for substrate. Which species colonizes a habitat first may deter- mine species coexistence or dominance. The strength of this priority effect will vary as a function of the interaction between life history processes and disturbance events at different spatial and temporal scales. On a local scale, disturbance tends to open up space, allowing new propagules to arrive, while on a regional scale, it has the potential to reduce source populations and the colonization ability of dis- persal-limited species. Differences in larval longevity will have a direct influence on dispersal dis- tance, the relative timing of colonization, and the impact of priority effects, especially when interacting with different disturbance regimes. This study presents a modeling exercise to highlight this synergy and its implications for invasive species and ecosystem management. Four life histories were simu- lated, representing species from the 4 common community states of Long Island Sound, USA: resident bryozoans, invasive ascidians, mussels, and the ascidian Diplosoma listerianum that is restricted to years with abnormally warm winters. Brooding species took longer to exert dominance than broadcast spawners, but were more resilient to disturbance, having less local extinctions. Simulations showed that the combined effects of dispersal ability and disturbance could allow the maintenance of diversity on a regional scale regardless of the identity of locally dominant species. Priority effects are only pre- sent when the system experiences localized disturbance regimes, such as predation.

Population structure of two deep sea tubeworms, Lamellibrachia luymesi and Seepiophila jonesi, from the hydrocarbon seeps of the Gulf of Mexico

Vestimentiferan tubeworms are a group of large sessile marine polychaete annelids (family Siboglinidae) found in the regions of hydrothermal venting or seepage of the reduced chemical hydrogen sulfide. Hydrocarbon seeps on the Louisiana Slope of the Gulf of Mexico support large communities of the co-occurring vestimentiferan species Lamellibrachia luymesi and Seepiophila jonesi. These sessile species have the opportunity to disperse between the patchy sites of active seepage on the seafloor during a planktonic larval stage. However, it is unclear whether dispersal occurs at a local or global scale. Four ( L. luymesi) and seven ( S. jonesi) microsatellite loci were used to test for population substructure among ten hydrocarbon seep sites on the Louisiana Slope. Both species showed high levels of allelic diversity, averaging 18.5 ( L. luymesi) and 22 ( S. jonesi) alleles/locus, respectively, and high observed heterozygosity at all microsatellite loci (0.71–0.9 in L. luymesi, 0.27–0.84 in S. jonesi). The two species showed a significant deficiency in heterozygotes compared to that predicted under the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. L. luymesi showed a small but significant amount of population structure, with a positive correlation between genetic and geographic distance among the sample sites spanning 540 km. S. jonesi, in contrast, showed no evidence for isolation by distance, but did show a significant genetic difference between aggregations of different ages. These results suggest that these two species differ in how larvae are able to colonize new seep sites through space ( L. luymesi) and though time ( S. jonesi).

Ectosymbiosis associated with cidaroids (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) promotes benthic colonization of the seafloor in the Larsen Embayments, Western Antarctica

Ice-shelf collapses in the Larsen A and B embayments along the Weddell side of the Antarctic Peninsula resulted in new open-water areas that are likely reorganizing benthic communities. It is a natural laboratory to assess colonization of the sea bottom under new conditions. We tested the hypothesis that the epibionts associated to cidaroid echinoids could promote or enhance the colonization of hard surfaces. In fact, being vagile, cidaroids might improve dispersal capabilities of the sessile animals that are attached to their spines, e.g., promoting the colonization of areas where the fauna has been eradicated by iceberg scouring. If this hypothesis is correct, pioneer sessile species present locally on stones might have affinities with ectosymbionts on cidaroids, and the sessile fauna present both on cidaroids and stones should be more similar in the Larsen embayments than in undisturbed areas. We therefore compared sessile species living on cidaroids with those living on stones in three areas: Larsen A and B embayments and two undisturbed and geographically different areas, Atka Bay and Elephant Island. Overall, richness, evaluated as ‘morphotypes’ richness, was lower in the Larsen area than in other areas, but levels of species diversity were similar among the three zones. The estimate of similarity between assemblages (using the C 22 index of Chao et al., 2008) also suggests that cidaroid epibionts are either species-specific or specific to cidaroids, while the composition of sessile fauna on stones is more variable and probably dependent on local factors. In the two undisturbed areas, sessile fauna are highly different between stones and cidaroids. This contrasts with the Larsen embayments where cidaroids share more than 80% of epibionts with the surrounding stones. These results suggest that ectosymbioses linked to cidaroids strongly contribute to benthic colonization of the seafloor in the Larsen enbayments. With time, secondary successions are expected to occur, increasing the difference between epibiotic communities on cidaroids and those on stones, and lead to the situations observed in unperturbed sites.

Importance of different carbon sources for macroinvertebrates and fishes of an interlinked mangrove–mudflat ecosystem (Tanzania)

Mangroves function as important shelter and feeding habitats for marine fauna, but the degree to which mangrove-derived carbon contributes to local food webs has long been debated. In this study, stable isotope analysis was used as a technique to elucidate the role of mangrove carbon in the diets of the macroinvertebrate and fish fauna of an intertidal fringing mangrove forest and adjacent intertidal/subtidal mudflats in a macrotidal Tanzanian estuary. The expectation was that sessile species and those with low motility depend to a larger extent on local carbon sources than highly motile species. A clear distinction in δ 13C was present between primary producers from mangrove and mudflat habitats. Macroinvertebrates revealed a gradient in their δ 13C where Sesarma crabs were the only species that directly utilised mangrove carbon by feeding on mangrove leaves/detritus. Uca crabs and the gastropod Littoraria scabra showed a higher dependence on microphytobenthos from the mangrove substratum. Among the fish fauna, the amphibious mudskipper was the only species to which the mangroves were accessible during low tide. Consequently this was the only fish species for which it was clear that it fed in the mangrove habitat, most commonly on mangrove-associated Uca crabs. All other species of sessile as well as motile macroinvertebrates and fish from the mangrove and mudflat habitat showed a high degree of utilisation of mudflat carbon. Overall, mangrove carbon thus contributed little to the mangrove and mudflat food webs, despite the high tidal amplitude and the resulting potential for exchange of carbon and fauna in the estuary studied here. Utilisation of mangrove carbon appears to depend more on the ecology of the species in consideration (e.g., species-specific use of zones within the mangrove habitat) than on their potential motility or tolerance to exposure during low tide.

Influence of substratum colour on the recruitment of macrofouling communities

Settlement of the fouling community is generally influenced by the physical, chemical and biological properties of the settling surface. The colour of the substratum may also exert an influence on larval settlement. In the present study, the influence of surface colour on the recruitment of fouling communities was investigated by suspending acrylic panels (red, green, blue, white and yellow) in coastal waters. Results showed that the colour of the substratum plays an important role in the recruitment of sessile species. Recruitment was comparatively high on red and blue coloured surfaces. Barnacle and tubeworm recruitment showed significant variation (Tukey test, P &lt; 0.05) between different coloured surfaces. The significant conclusion of this study is that the colour of the artificial substrata should be taken into consideration when interpreting results from short-term biofouling studies.