Invertebrate communities on historical shipwrecks in the western Atlantic: relation to islands

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 566:17-29 (2017) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12058 Invertebrate communities on historical shipwrecks in the western Atlantic: relation to islands Kirstin S. Meyer1,4,*, Sandra D. Brooke2, Andrew K. Sweetman3, Maya Wolf1, Craig M. Young1 1Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, Charleston, OR 97420, USA 2Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, St. Teresa, FL 32358, USA 3The Lyell Centre for Earth and Marine Science and Technology, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AP, UK 4Present address: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA *Corresponding author: [e-mail] ABSTRACT: Shipwrecks can be considered island-like habitats on the seafloor. We investigated the fauna of 8 historical shipwrecks off the US east coast to assess whether species distribution patterns on the shipwrecks fit models from classical island theory. Invertebrates on the shipwrecks included both sessile (sponges, anemones, hydroids) and motile (crustaceans, echinoderms) species. Invertebrate communities were significantly different among wrecks. The size and distance between wrecks influenced the biotic communities, much like on terrestrial islands. However, while wreck size influenced species richness (alpha diversity), distance to the nearest wreck influenced community composition (beta diversity). Alpha and beta diversity on the shipwrecks were thus influenced by different abiotic factors. We found no evidence of either nested patterns or non-random co-occurrence of morphotypes, suggesting that the taxa on a given shipwreck were randomly selected from the available taxon pool. Species present on the shipwrecks generally had 1 of 2 reproductive modes: most motile or solitary sessile species had long-duration planktotrophic larvae, while most encrusting or colonial sessile species had short-duration lecithotrophic larvae and underwent asexual reproduction by budding as adults. Short-duration larvae may recruit to their natal shipwreck, allowing them to build up dense populations and dominate the wreck surfaces. A high degree of dominance was indeed observed on the wrecks, with up to 80% of the fauna being accounted for by the most common species alone. By comparing the shipwreck communities to known patterns of succession in shallow water, we hypothesize that the shipwrecks are in a stage of mid-succession. KEY WORDS: Island biogeography · Assembly rules · Artificial reef · Succession · Benthic fauna · Continental shelf · Remotely operated vehicle · Video analysis Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Meyer KS, Brooke SD, Sweetman AK, Wolf M, Young CM (2017) Invertebrate communities on historical shipwrecks in the western Atlantic: relation to islands. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 566:17-29. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12058 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 566. Online publication date: February 27, 2017 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2017 Inter-Research.