Diversity and abundance of epibiota on invasive and native estuarine gastropods depend on substratum and salinity

TY - JOUR

T1 - Diversity and abundance of epibiota on invasive and native estuarine gastropods depend on substratum and salinity

AU - Thyrring, Jakob

AU - Thomsen, Mads Solgaard

AU - Brunbjerg, Ane Kirstine

AU - Wernberg, Thomas

PY - 2015/5/21

Y1 - 2015/5/21

N2 - Epibiosis is a common life form in estuarine ecosystems, where shell structures in particular, provide important attachment substrate for sessile species. Many studies have quantified variation in epibiota communities against a few environmental factors, but rarely studies have accounted for the concurrent influence of many environmental factors on epibiota communities. This study aimed to determine the importance of salinity, depth, wave exposure, habitat and shell type for community structure of sessile epibiota in the Swan River Estuary, Western Australia. We quantified the epibiota on 3,226 shells representing the common gastropod species in the estuary; Nassarius pauperatus, Bedeva paiva and Batillaria australs from various sites and habitats. Generalized linear models were used to model variability of richness and abundances of common functional groups and species for the above listed factors. The five factors accounted for 3-34% of the total deviance explained of the models, with shell type and salinity levels being the only significant factors in nine of 14 models. These results highlight an overwhelming importance of shell type and salinity in explaining estuarine epibiota communities but also that unaccounted factors needs to be included in studies to better understand the possible underlying causes of patterns in epibiota community structure.

AB - Epibiosis is a common life form in estuarine ecosystems, where shell structures in particular, provide important attachment substrate for sessile species. Many studies have quantified variation in epibiota communities against a few environmental factors, but rarely studies have accounted for the concurrent influence of many environmental factors on epibiota communities. This study aimed to determine the importance of salinity, depth, wave exposure, habitat and shell type for community structure of sessile epibiota in the Swan River Estuary, Western Australia. We quantified the epibiota on 3,226 shells representing the common gastropod species in the estuary; Nassarius pauperatus, Bedeva paiva and Batillaria australs from various sites and habitats. Generalized linear models were used to model variability of richness and abundances of common functional groups and species for the above listed factors. The five factors accounted for 3-34% of the total deviance explained of the models, with shell type and salinity levels being the only significant factors in nine of 14 models. These results highlight an overwhelming importance of shell type and salinity in explaining estuarine epibiota communities but also that unaccounted factors needs to be included in studies to better understand the possible underlying causes of patterns in epibiota community structure.

U2 - 10.1071/MF14311

DO - 10.1071/MF14311

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1323-1650

VL - 66

SP - 1191

EP - 1200

JO - Marine and Freshwater Research

JF - Marine and Freshwater Research

IS - 12

ER -