New species and new records of bryozoan species from fouling communities in the Madeira Archipelago (NE Atlantic)

Hull fouling is considered to be the most significant vector of introduction of marine non-indigenous species (NIS) in the Madeira Archipelago (NE Atlantic) because these islands provide a vital passage route for many ships. The transfer of species between boat hulls and artificial substrates in marinas is known to be high. Bryozoans are among the most common groups of marine invertebrates growing on this type of substrate. In recent years, significant advances have been made in our knowledge about the biodiversity of bryozoans in the Madeira Archipelago. Nonetheless, the currently recognized numbers remain far from reflecting the actual bryozoan species richness. In this context, we examine bryozoan samples stemming from NIS monitoring surveys on artificial substrates along the southern coast of the Madeira Archipelago, in four recreational marinas and in two offshore aquaculture farms. This has yielded new information about ten bryozoan species. Two of them, Crisia noronhai sp. nov. and Amathia maderensis sp. nov., are described for the first time, although at least the first one was previously recorded from Madeira but misidentified. Bugula ingens, Cradoscrupocellaria insularis, Scruparia ambigua, and Celleporaria brunnea are recorded for the first time in Madeira. Moreover, the material of C. brunnea was compared with the type, and a biometric analysis was performed with material from the Atlantic and Mediterranean. All samples identified as C. brunnea in both regions are the same species, and the variations described in the literature apparently reflect high intracolonial variability. Finally, we provide new information for the descriptions of 4 additional bryozoans, namely, Crisia sp. aff. elongata, Cradoscrupocellaria bertholletii, Scrupocaberea maderensis, and Tricellaria inopinata.

Open access funding provided by Austrian Science Fund (FWF). JS was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF, projects numbers P33733-B and AP28594-B29). PR is funded by the project (UIDB/04292/2020) granted to MARE UI&I and partially funded by the Project Observatório Oceânico da Madeira-OOM (M1420-01–0145-FEDER-000001), co-financed by the Madeira Regional Operational Programme (Madeira 14–20), under the Portugal 2020 strategy, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). SA is funded by Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation (ARDITI) in the framework of MIMAR + project (MAC2/4.6d/249) and OCEANLIT project (MAC2/4.6d/302) funded by INTERREG MAC 2014–2020 programme. IGG is supported financially by a Maria Zambrano contract UCA under the grants call for the requalification of the Spanish university system 2021–2023, funded by the European Union–NextGenerationEU. JCC was funded by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the Scientific Employment Stimulus Institutional Call (CEECINST/00098/2018). Finally, part of this study had the support of FCT through the strategic project UIDB/04292/2020 awarded to MARE and through project LA/P/0069/2020 granted to the Associate Laboratory ARNET. This is contribution 110 from the Smithsonian's MarineGEO and Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network.

Peer reviewed