TY - JOUR T1 - Regional and temporal changes in epizoobiontic bryozoan-communities of Flustra foliacea (Linnaeus, 1758) and implications for North Sea ecology JF - Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science Y1 - 2011 A1 - Bitschofsky, F. A1 - Forster, S. A1 - Scholz, J. SP - 423 EP - 433 KW - biogeography KW - bryozoa KW - diversity KW - epibiosis KW - fauna KW - Flustra foliacea KW - invertebrates KW - North Sea KW - species diversity AB - Until recently, bryozoans have not been used as indicators for changes in bottom communities or climate control in the North Sea Basin, despite a 200-year history of bryozoan collecting. The epizoobiontic bryozoan fauna of Flustra foliacea (Linnaeus, 1758) was analysed on 51 sample stations kept in four German museums. The samples cover the entire North Sea and different time periods (1776-2008, mainly the period of 1904/1905 compared to 1980-87). Cluster analysis shows a differentiation into a northern and a southern North Sea assemblage. The northern assemblage is characterized by Amphiblestrum flemingii (Busk, 1854), Callopora dumerilii (Audouin, 1826) and Tricellaria ternata (Ellis & Solander, 1786), while the southern North Sea is characterized by Electra pilosa (Linnaeus, 1767), Crisia eburnea (Linnaeus, 1758) and Plagioecia patina (Lamarck, 1816). Spatial separation approximately follows the 50 m depth contour. The temporal distribution patterns of bryozoans are discussed in terms of NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) and temperature variations. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. VL - 91 SN - 0272-7714 UR - ://000287290500009 N1 - ISI Document Delivery No.: 720ORTimes Cited: 0Cited Reference Count: 53Bitschofsky, F. Forster, S. Scholz, J.Leibniz Institut for Baltic Research Warnemunde ; University of Rostock ; Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg ; Loewe-Institut ; Initiative for the Development of Scientific and Economic Excellence (LOEWE) of the Federal State of Hessen ; Senckenberg Nature Research Society (SGN) ; Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main (GU)This work was only possible with the help of curators who made collected material available to us. We thank the curators: Dr. Dirk Brandis (Zoological Museum, Kiel), Dr. Carsten Later (Natural History Museum, Berlin), PD Dr. Andreas Schmidt-Rhesa (Zoological Museum, Hamburg) and their staff for providing this material. Further thanks go to Rainer Bahlo and the Leibniz Institut for Baltic Research Warnemunde for their support at the SEM, and to Professor Roger Cuffey (Pennsylvania State University) and two anonymous reviewers for reading and commenting on the manuscript and correcting the English. This research was supported by the University of Rostock, the Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg and the Loewe-Institut. This is a contribution by the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F) supported by the Initiative for the Development of Scientific and Economic Excellence (LOEWE) of the Federal State of Hessen, the Senckenberg Nature Research Society (SGN), and Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main (GU).Academic press ltd- elsevier science ltdLondon ER -