Short-term study on the early succession stages of fouling communities in the coastal zone of Puck Bay (southern Baltic Sea)

Abstract

Short-term study on the early succession stages of fouling communities in the coastal zone of Puck Bay (southern Baltic Sea)The aim of this study was to distinguish the early succession stages of the fouling community in Puck Bay at depths of 3-7 m, to evaluate its biodiversity and to find the point at which the biodiversity of the assemblages achieved similarity. The depth at the study site was 8 m. The investigation lasted from 24 July to 22 September 2008 (61 days) when the colonisation and succession process of fouling communities is most intensive. During this period five sets of samples were collected. The investigations were focused on sessile organisms that established themselves on 105 PVC settlement panels (15 × 15 cm, 0.2 cm thick), 21 panels being deployed at each of five depths - 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 m. A total of twelve sessile taxa and eight mobile (accompanying) taxa were identified over the course of the experiment. The panels became overgrown with fouling organisms in a characteristic manner - a layer of barnacles became covered with a layer of mussels. This type of community development created a double-layered structure (multi-strata growth). Assemblages reached a thickness of 2 cm as a result of the stratified fouling process. The species diversity was highest on 12 August (the first sampling day) at 7 m depth. Biodiversity differences during the study indicated that communities from all examined depths in Puck Bay became similar after a two-month colonisation period. By the end of the study

Seasonal and multi-annual patterns of colonisation and growth of sessile benthic fauna on artificial substrates in the brackish low-diversity system of the Baltic Sea

“…The only full-year seasonal research by Dürr & Wahl (2004) shows the synergistic negative effect of mussels and barnacles on fouling community structure in the subtidal Kiel Fjord in the western Baltic. Most field studies of natural succession in the Baltic Sea have been performed, however, on sedimentary habitats or on vertical experimental units (Chojnacki & Ceronik, 1997;Dürr & Wahl, 2004;Dziubińska & Janas, 2007;Andersson et al, 2009;Dziubińska & Szaniawska, 2010) and artificial marine constructions (Qvarfordt et al, 2006). To date, no investigations have been conducted on horizontal substrates that are installed directly on the sea floor and mimic natural hard bottoms in the coastal environment (Wahl et al, 2011).…”

Modification in the nest guarding strategy — one of the reasons of the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) invasion success in the Gulf of Gdańsk?

“…Unfortunately, no data from such places are available. The other potential reason for very low abundance of round goby nests might be that almost all surfaces are covered by sessile organisms Janas 2007, Dziubińska andSzaniawska 2010). Big, heavy boulders and concrete elements are a better substrate for stable vegetation than smaller stones, which move during storms.…”

The Ecological Structure Macrofauling Community of the Eastern Shore of the Pomeranian Bay (Southern Baltic Sea) in 2008 on the Anthropogenic Substrates

“…Oba gatunki są najczęstszymi i najobficiej występującymi organizmami zgrupowań poroślowych Morza Bałtyckiego [2]. Jednocześnie konkurują one za sobą zarówno o miejsce (podłoże) do zasiedlenia oraz o pokarm [3,21,9,10]. Tworzona przez organizmy osiadłe dodatkowa twarda powierzchnia na zanurzonych podłożach stanowi siedlisko do bytowania larw Chirnomidae, Ostracoda, Copepoda i młodych małży, powodując wzrost ich liczebności [17].…”