Primary Succession and Seasonal Cycles on Submerged Recruitment Tiles In Monterey Bay

In intertidal ecosystems, primary succession occurs as marine organisms settle on bare surfaces. Communities develop as organisms settle on, near, or on top of those organisms and successfully outcompete other organisms. Observations in intertidal systems are often of already established communities that have reached some climax state of development, however frequent disturbance leads to open substrates and the succession process resets. Patterns and dynamics of community development are likely sensitive to local processes. In this study I examined primary succession in intertidal fouling communities, comparing sites with different ocean circulation patterns in Monterey Bay during 2019. PVC frames with settlement tiles, were submerged in two different energy regimes; one high (under the Monterey Municipal Wharf - a piling wharf facing the open bay) and one low (in the Monterey Harbor behind a cement seawall). Replicate plates were recovered at one month, three month, and one year intervals. On each plate taxa were identified and algae percent coverage was determined. I compared species diversity and algae coverage between time periods, seasonal cycles, and sites. Preliminary results indicate a shift in community composition and an overall trend of higher biodiversity over time. Although succession was different between sites originally, they became more similar over time. The shift can be shown in the transition of small, sessile or encrusting species, such as bryozoans and spirorbids, to a more complex community consisting of many species of crustacean; Mayerella banksia, Mysidacea sp., Orchestoidea corniculata, and sponges; Leucosolenia elenor. This is the beginning of a long-term baseline study that may help track seasonal and annual changed in the local Monterey intertidal community.