Print PageEpiphytic algae form complex communities on their macroalgae hosts. These epiphyte communities occur throughout the marine algae system, yet the process of colonization is not fully understood. The goal of this study was to determine whether colonization of epiphytic algae was random or influenced by the host species and host architecture. To test for host-specificity of the epiphytic algae, four substrates were placed in a shallow reef crest in Cook’s Bay, Mo’orea, French Polynesia. These four substrates – an algae settlement plate, uncolonized Turbinaria ornata, Padina boryana with clean uncolonized thalli, and P. boryana with uncleaned thalli – provided habitats of different textures. The substrates were collected after a three-week period and examined for epiphytic communities. The epiphytic assemblages of the two distinct morphs of P.boryana were also surveyed. Although the same species, these two forms of P. boryana have contrasting architectures, providing unique substrates in a similar habitat. An Adonis test (a non-parametric permutation MANOVA) was run to determine whether the communities on the substrates differed significantly.
Results/Conclusions
Each different substrate had a unique epiphytic community (Adonis F3,94=14.168, P=0.00002). Both the uncleaned and cleaned thalli of P. boryana had similar assemblages, while the other two substrates hosted their own communities. These results suggest that the same host substrate result in similar communities, while different substrate have distinct epiphytic compositions. The difference in substrate texture seemed to determine the composition of these epiphytic communities. The conclusion was also supported by that fact that the two morphs of P. boryana had significantly different communities (F1,29=1.1931, P=0.00005). Thus, the architecture of the macroalgae, in addition to the host-species, can influence the epiphytic communities. These results demonstrate that the epiphytic colonization is a non-random process.
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