Comparison of Recruitment Patterns of Sessile Marine Invertebrates According to Substrate Characteristics

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.

Habitat Fragmentation Enhances the Difference between Natural and Artificial Reefs in an Urban Marine Coastal Tract

“…First, contrary to previous experiences in other areas [95,96], the artificial reefs of Genoa were not characterized by a lower species richness than the natural ones and did not represent an elective substrate for the settlement and propagation of alien species. Second, the persistent difference in community composition between natural and artificial reefs pointed out in many papers [97][98][99] was reduced where the artificial reefs were located in a mostly natural context: the proximity of the regional species pool appeared therefore more important than the age of the artificial reefs [77].…”

Sessile Biofouling on Electrolytic Carbonated Structures: Stages of Colonization and Succession

“…The dominant ascidians were the typical ones of port environments and during the summer months [51,56]. In the case of ascidians, it has been reported that their larvae prefer rough surfaces to settle [21,57] explaining why they are more abundant on the carbonated substrate. Moreover, during this species substitution process, there are species, such as Crisia denticulata, Savignyella lafontii, Botrylloides cf.…”

Does plastic type matter? Insights into non-indigenous marine larvae recruitment under controlled conditions

“…These trends were species-specific, C. gigas and M. galloprovincialis settled consistently irrespective of polymer type whereas C. savignyi preferred Nylon and S. caraniferus preferred PLA and Nylon. These differences likely reflect species-specific larval biological traits and ecology ( Ceccherelli & Rossi, 1984 ; Harris, 2008 ; Gosselin & Sewell, 2013 ; Cahill et al, 2016 ), and the physical and chemical properties of the substrates ( Siddik et al, 2019 ; Bae et al, 2022 ). Moreover, previous investigators reported that chemical cues released from the bacterial biofilm can affect the recruitment of macro-invertebrates larvae ( Wieczorek & Todd, 1998 ; Hadfield, 2011 ).…”