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Resumen del producto

Cardona-Gutiérrez, M.F., V.H., Cruz-Escalona, M.A., Tovar-Hernández, J.Á., de León-González, J.M., Borges-Souza & M.S., Peterson (2025). Impact of the invasive colonial tunicate Distaplia stylifera on polychaete taxocenosis associated with pen shells in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Bulletin of Marine Science. 101(4): 1847–1861. DOI: 10.5343/bms.2025.0028.

Impact of the invasive colonial tunicate Distaplia stylifera on polychaete taxocenosis associated with pen shells in the Gulf of California, Mexico

María Fernada Cardona-Gutiérrez 1, Víctor Hugo Cruz-Escalona 1, María Ana Tovar-Hernández 2, Jesús Ángel de León-González 2, José Manuel Borges-Souza 1 y Mark S. Peterson 3

1 Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas - La Paz, Pesquerías y Biología Marina
2 Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Laboratorio de Biosistemática.
3 University of Southern Mississippi, School of Ocean Science and Engineering, Division of Coastal Sciences.

The pen shell Atrina maura (Bivalvia: Pinnidae) is an important fishery resource in the Gulf of California, providing habitat for various invertebrates, including polychaetes and the invasive colonial tunicate Distaplia stylifera. This study documents these epibiotic polychaete assemblages in La Paz Lagoon (southern Gulf of California, Pacific Ocean) and evaluates whether the presence of D. stylifera affects their species richness, abundance, and assemblage structure. A total of 24 pen shells—12 colonized by D. stylifera and 12 uncolonized—were collected from northern and southern areas of La Paz Lagoon to examine and record polychaetes inhabiting the valves, either directly or on the tunicate-covered surface. Polychaete species richness and abundance were analyzed using a generalized linear mixed model with a negative binomial distribution, whereas assemblage structure was assessed using a two-way permutation analysis of variance. Of the 1754 polychaetes (belonging to 28 species, 28 genera, and 18 families) recorded, only 10.2% were associated with uncolonized pen shell valves, compared to 89.9% in those colonized by D. stylifera, whose presence significantly increased polychaete abundance (P = 1.87 × 10-5), species richness (P = 3.80 × 10-4), and assemblage structure (P = 0.001), irrespective of collection area. The most abundant species were Syllis cf. gracilis, commonly found on calcareous substrates, and Pseudobranchiomma schizogenica, a known biofouling organism on docks and boat hulls in Gulf of California marinas. This study concludes that the invasive D. stylifera enhances the composition, richness, and abundance of polychaetes on pen shell bivalves in the studied lagoon and likely throughout the Gulf of California.

Palabras clave: colonial tunicate; gulf of California, epibionts polychaets

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