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Bryozoans of the Adriatic Sea

Bryozoans of the eastern Adriatic Sea are presented through the distribution and characteristics of the dominant species in the main benthic ecosystems: rocky bottoms, seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile meadows, marine caves and soft bottoms. Bryozoan assemblages were surveyed and sampled from 22 sites along the eastern Adriatic Sea coast. Among surveyed biocoenoses, the corraligenous biocoenosis harboured the largest diversity diversity in bryozoans, followed by semi-cave biocoenosis, biocoenosis of seagrass Posiodnia oceanica meadow and biocoenosis of photophilic algae. Some particular bryozoan assemblages such as large bryozoans that live under the influence of submarine freshwater springs ("vruljas") , on the magmatic rocks, dense meadow of Cellaria fistulosa and C. salicornioides and meadow of Margaretta cereoides were also discussed. The bryozoan assemblages of the Adriatic Sea correspond in general to those of the Mediterranean Sea. Since about 400 species have been recorded in the Mediterranean and only 222 in the eastern Adriatic, future researches are expected to confirm much larger bryozoan diversity in the eastern Adriatic Sea.

Bryozoa, benthic communities, comparison Mediterranean Sea

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