Early recruitment variation and an established dominant alter the composition of a temperate fouling community

Abstract

For marine organisms with complex life cycles, recruitment of dispersive propagules is highly variable in time and space, and can have important consequences for population and community dynamics. Recruitment often occurs in patches already occupied by adults that could alter its effects on communities. Using an experimental approach, we examined the effects of initial recruitment of a common bryozoan (Conopeum seurati) and barnacles in the presence/absence of a large and abundant solitary ascidian (Pyura dalbyi) on the composition of a marine fouling community occurring on artificial substrate. The presence of P. dalbyi and different initial recruitment patterns both influenced overall comm..