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The community associated with biogenic reefs formed by the polychaete, Serpula vermicularis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2011

Nicola D. Chapman ,
Colin G. Moore ,
Dan B. Harries  and
Alastair. R. Lyndon
Nicola D. Chapman
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
Colin G. Moore*
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
Dan B. Harries
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
Alastair. R. Lyndon
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Colin G. Moore, School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK email: c.g.moore@hw.ac.uk
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Abstract

The study aims to provide the first detailed account of the diversity and composition of the community associated with biogenic reefs formed by serpulid worms. Ten reefs (aggregations of calcareous Serpula vermicularis tubes), spanning a broad size-range, were collected from Loch Creran, Scotland, a Special Area of Conservation designated principally for the protection of its biogenic reefs. Total faunal abundance was strongly linearly related to reef weight, whilst taxon richness exhibited a hyperbolic relationship with reef size. 278 taxa were recorded from the ten reefs, with a reef of 0.1 m2 area supporting 163 taxa and 12756 individuals, which appears to represent considerable augmentation of diversity and abundance for sedimentary areas of the loch where the reefs occur. The reef assemblage was dominated by polychaetes (94 taxa), molluscs (70 taxa) and crustaceans (45 taxa). Species composition varied with reef size, although reefs greater than 25 cm width exhibited relatively little variation. In comparison with other biogenic polychaete habitats, S. vermicularis reefs appear to support a highly diverse community, which exhibits a high degree of similarity with that found in association with aggregations of the horse mussel, Modiolus modiolus. The presence of the Connemara clingfish, Lepadogaster candollei, rarely recorded at such a northerly latitude, on several reefs, indicates that the reef habitat may provide a stronghold for this species at the edge of its biogeographical range.

Keywords

species diversitybiodiversityconservationserpulidLoch Creran
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 92 , Issue 4: Coral Reefs, the Aquarium Trade and the Maritime Industry , June 2012 , pp. 679 - 685
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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