Hydrozoans and anthozoans are an important component of a great variety of marine communities,particularly abundant and ubiquitous as part of the fouling assemblages around the globe.Several negative impacts have been associated to their occurrence on artificial substrata.In the coastal waters of China,a total of 76 species of fouling cnidarians were observed and classified.According to the occurrence frequency or biomass,the major species in the Bohai and Yellow Seas were Ectopleura marina,Bougainvillia sp.,and Eudendrium capillare;in the East China Sea Anthopleura nigrescens,Diadumene lineata,and Ectopleura crocea;and in the South China Sea Clytia sp.,Obelia sp.,and Actiniaria spp.The peak period of settlement of most species was mainly in summer and autumn.With the decrease of latitude,species number increased greatly and even cnidarian fouling was observed all year round in the East and South China Seas.Salinity was another factor aff ecting species distribution.Naturally,immersion time of substrata also directly aff ects the characteristics of cnidarians in fouling communities.
Tao YANMingqing LINWenhao CAOShuaishuai HANXikun SONG
We review the species composition, distribution, and seasonal variation of fouling acorn barnacles in Chinese waters--from Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea to East and South China Seas. Thirty-two species of acorn barnacles were found, of which, the dominant species are Amphibalanus amphitrite, A. reticulatus, A. variegates, Balanus trigonus, Fistulobalanus kondakovi, Megabalanus tintinnabulum, Striatobalanus amaryllis, and Eurapha withersi in the fouling communities. A. amphitrite is the dominant species in the coastal waters of Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea and A. reticulatus is dominant in the East and South China Seas. The settlement period of fouling acorn barnacles is usually in summer and autumn. From north to south with the decrease of latitude, their settlement period obviously extends, even to the whole year, and the species number also increases. Other environmental factors, such as salinity and distance from shore, also play an important role in the distribution of fouling acorn barnacles.
