Habitat use of bryozoans in marinas across multiple spatial scales: the case of the Canary Islands (North-Eastern Atlantic)
2025
Ruiz Velasco, Sofía | Guerra García, José Manuel | Ros Clemente, Macarena | López-Fé de la Cuadra, Carlos María | Izquierdo, Ángela | Pastor Montero, María | Clemente, Sabrina | Zoología | RNM136: Laboratorio de Biología Marina (Zoología) | RNM937: Ecología Integrada y Cambio Global
Marinas, as other maritime transport hubs, act as reservoirs for the introduction and secondary spread of non-indigenous bryozoans, which are key components of fouling communities. Although understanding habitat use patterns of these organisms could be very useful for implementing management strategies, the ecology of bryozoans in marinas has been greatly overlooked. To explore this issue, we sampled a total of 12 marinas on four islands of the Canarian archipelago (North-Eastern Atlantic). The occurrence of bryozoans (both total species and non-indigenous ones) was compared in contrasting zones within the marinas (i.e. interior and exterior) and types of floating artificial substrates (i.e. floating pontoons, buoys and ropes). We recorded a total of 23 bryozoan species, including 12 non-indigenous species. Both the type of substrate and the singularity of the marinas were the main factors driving the structure of bryozoan assemblages in marinas of the Canary Islands, while the sampled island had only a very subtle influence. Buoys showed the highest number of total and non-indigenous species of bryozoans, with some being registered only on this substrate. This finding supports buoys as a priority substrate in strategies for monitoring and detecting non-indigenous bryozoans in marinas.
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