Macroinfaunal invertebrates associated to Cladocora caespitosa (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) in Gökçeada (northern Aegean Sea)

Macroinfaunal invertebrates associated to Cladocora caespitosa (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) in Gökçeada (northern Aegean Sea)

Tancrède Barraud, Bayram Öztürk

ORCID IDs: T.B. 0000-0001-6621-0922; B.Ö. 0000-0001-7844-2448

Marine Ecology Department, University of the French West Indies and Guiana, Pointe-à-Pitre 97157, Guadeloupe, FRANCE
Marine Biology Programme, Institute of Sciences and Technology, Istanbul University, 34134, Istanbul, TÜRKİYE
Marine Biology Department, Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, Istanbul University, 34134 Istanbul, TÜRKİYE
Turkish Marine Research Foundation, 34820 Istanbul, TÜRKİYE

Abstract

Macro-invertebrates associated with stony coral Cladocora caespitosa were studied around Gökçeada Island (northern Aegean Sea) up to a depth of 15.5 m during the spring of 2019. Twelve dead/partially dead colonies were collected, to which 68 infaunal taxa were found to be associated. The overall number of associated taxa were updated to 397 (406 with macroalgae included). The present study added 26 taxa to the total number of associates. The most abundant group was Polychaeta (61 %), followed by Mollusca (16 %) and Crustacea (9 %). The most abundant species in the area were Syllis gracilis, Perinereis cultrifera, Vermiliopsis striaticeps and Serpula vermicularis. Similar patterns of aggregation were recognized between polychaetes and biota data via PCO plots. DISTLM procedure indicated that 94 % of biota variation was explained by the number of recently necrotized polyps and living polyps. The impact of temperature on biota was underlined in the present study (ANOSIM), however the extent of influence by sea surface temperature on the associated biota remains unclear.

Keywords: Cladocora caespitosa, stony coral, macro-infauna, polychaetes, multivariate analysis

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