Epibiotic communities on three ascidian species living on soft substrates at Potter Cove, an Antarctic coastal ecosystem.

RIMONDINO, C.; SAHADE R.; TORRE L; TATIÁN, M

Nápoles

Congreso; 7th Tunicate Meeting.; 2013

The inner Potter Cove (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica), characterized by muddy bottoms, showed a high density and species richness, particularly of ascidians, which support a community of epibiont organisms. These organisms were reported to be responsible for the tridimensional structure observed in macrobenthic communities, contributing to the benthic diversity in other Antarctic areas. In spite of its relevance, epibiotic communities were not still studied at Potter Cove. In this study, a total of 21 macroepibiont taxa were identified on the ascidian species Corella antarctica Sluiter, 1905, Cnemidocarpa verrucosa (Lesson, 1830) and Molgula pedunculata Herdman, 1881, being Bryozoa the most diverse epibiont taxa found. There were differences between the three ascidian species in terms of richness and percentage cover of macroepibionts. Besides chemical, physical and structural factors, the influence of the available area for settlement and its relation with the age of the basibiont individuals would produce the observed differences. This work was partially supported by ECLIPSE, a three years project by the TOTAL Foundation (France).