Composition of biofouling communities on suspended oyster cultures: an in situ study of their interactions with the water column

Dynamic filter-feeding responses in fouling organisms

“…A slightly different perspective is shown for oysters Crassostrea gigas and ascidians in the Thau Lagoon, France, where food resource-partitioning is suggested between these species, thus limiting competition (Mazouni et al 2001). Ascidians feed on the high levels of picophytoplankton (< 1 µm) in this lagoon, some of which are released in their faeces and pseudofaeces, and subsequently made available to the oysters.…”

“…Ascidians feed on the high levels of picophytoplankton (< 1 µm) in this lagoon, some of which are released in their faeces and pseudofaeces, and subsequently made available to the oysters. Mazouni et al (2001) assume that this positive trophic interaction supports the rapid oyster growth shown in the lagoon, citing the observations of farmers, who note that the presence of ascidians on the ropes is predictive of a good harvest. Similar trophic interactions have been reported for great scallop Pecten maximus cultivation off the Isle of Man (Ross et al 2002).…”

“…Whilst most previous work on filter-feeding in marine species has concentrated on bivalve molluscs, as many are of commercial importance and are cultured worldwide, there has been growing interest in interspecific competition for space and food by fouling communities (Lesser et al 1992, Riisgard & Larsen 2000, Mazouni et al 2001. Lesser et al (1992) assessed the interspecific competition for food between cultured mussels and suspension-feeding fouling taxa and found that although there were some differences in particle selection, blue mussels Mytilus edulis L. showed a higher clearance rate for all particle types and size classes.…”

Characterising biofouling communities on mussel farms along an environmental gradient: a step towards improved risk management

“…Suspension-feeders are recognised for substantially contributing to the overall biomass of biofouling communities on artificial structures (Lesser et al 1992, Cronin et al 1999, Howes et al 2007, Fitridge et al 2012. Therefore, these findings are not unexpected, and a dominance of macroalgae and suspension-feeders within biofouling communities have been found on other marine farms, including oyster cultures and tuna farms (Cronin et al 1999, Mazouni et al 2001). The structure of biofouling communities became less similar with increasing geographical distance between sampled mussel farms, making this study the first known, documented account of distance− decay in biofouling communities associated with artificial structures.…”

Trophic relationships between the farmed pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera and its epibionts revealed by stable isotopes and feeding experiments

“…Lesser et al (1992) and Petersen (2007) emphasized that competition between filter feeders is low when food is diverse and abundant. Other authors have suggested complementary and positive trophic interactions between filter feeders (Mook 1981, Arakawa 1990, Mazouni et al 2001.…”