Epiphytic bryozoan community of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile leaves in two different meadows at disturbed and control locations

Abstract

The impact of fish farming activities on Posidonia oceanica meadows in the Aegean Sea have been detected using bryozoan epiphytes as indicators of disturbance. Samples were collected by SCUBA diving in September 2004 in order to compare assemblages between disturbed (I1:0-5 m; I2:5-10 m and I3:10-15 m) and control meadows (C1:0-5 m; C2:5-10 m and C3:10-15 m) located at different depths. Regarding the mean percentage coverage of bryozoans, significant differences were found between stations, leaf sides, depths and their interactions (p<0.05). Bryozoan species densely colonized the back side of adult leaves. Bantariella verticillata, Alcyonidium sp., Aetea truncata, Chorizopora brongniartii, Fenestrulina joannae were frequently observed on P. oceanica leaves. B. verticillata showed statistically significant side and station differences, while other species showed only significant side differences. Moreover, the mean coverage of Aetea truncata revealed no station or side variations. B. verticillata could be evaluated as an appropriate key species studying any environmental changes. In the impacted meadow, higher mean coverage values of the species were particularly determined on front side of the leaves. These results suggest that locality, leaf side and leaf part can influence the coverage value of epiphytic bryozoan species.

Checklist of Bryozoa on the coasts of Turkey

“…Monoporella bouchardii is a common bryozoan species in Lebanon, the Greek islands Turkey, and Egypt (Harmelin, 2014). It was found in cavities of rocky bottoms, on Posidonia rhizomes, and on leaves in Turkey (Nicoletti et al, 1995;Kocak and Aydin-Onen, 2014). In these studies, specimens collected from Yenikaş and Engeceli Bay (İzmir) was assigned to M. nodulifera.…”

Benthic bryozoan fauna from the Northern Egyptian coast

“…This character is significant for differentiating between the present species and a similar species (N. stipata Gosse, 1855) in which the proximal portions of autozooids taper and lack basal dilatations. Additionally, peristomial length may be used to distinguish between these two species: Distribution and Habitat: Nolella dilatata had been recorded from both the western basin of the Mediterranean (Hayward and McKinney, 2002;Souto et al, 2010Souto et al, , 2014Ben Ismail et al, 2012) and the eastern basin (d 0 Hondt, 1988a;Morri et al, 1999;Koc¸ak et al, 2002;Koc¸ak and Aydin-onen, 2014). Nevertheless; Souto et al (2014) indicated that the real distribution of European Nolella species is uncertain due to the uncertain status of the species, and that Nolella gigantea (Busk, 1856) may be a synonym of N. stipata.…”

Struktur Komunitas Perifiton Pada Lamun Jenis Thalassia hemprichii dan Cymodocea rotundatta di Kawasan Pantai Sanur

“…Berdasarkan hal tersebut, perifiton memegang peranan yang sangat penting dalam struktur trofik pada ekosistem lamun. Selain itu, perifiton juga dijadikan sebagai bioindikator pencemaran karena dapat merespon perubahan lingkungan perairan (Indrawati et al, 2010 ;Junda et al, 2013 ;Kocak and Onen, 2014 ;Fitriani dan Maulana, 2015).…”