Benthic richness in scallop beds: Zygochlamys patagonica (King & Broderip, 1832) as primary settlement substrate

SCHEJTER L.; BREMEC C.

Mooloolaba, Australia

Workshop; 15 th. International Pectinid Workshop; 2005

The availability of a suitable substratum is one of the critical factors for the colonization of sessile species. Mollusc shells, decapod carapaces and sea urchin spines are several frequent surfaces used as hard substrata available for settlement of sessile organisms in soft bottoms. Epibiosis is the scientific name for this aquatic phenomenon of a non-symbiotic association between epi-bionts (organisms growing attached to a living surface) and basi-bionts (substrate organisms that are hosts to the epibionts) (Wahl 1989). Previous works on Zygochlamys patagonica (Diehl 1977, Walossek 1991, Rosso & Sanfilippo 1991, Sanfilippo 1994, Bremec & Lasta 2002, Bremec et al. 2003) mentioned a great variety of organisms, including calcareous algae, poriferans, hydrozoans, anthozoans, polychaetes, molluscs, cirripeds, foraminiferans, ascidians and bryozoans. This study summarizes available and new information of epibionts on Zygochlamys patagonica and assesses the contribution of this basibiont to increasing the species richness in scallop beds in the Argentine Sea.