Wood shadows: The influence of Xylophaga on hard-substrate macrofauna in Southern California.

ABSTRACT: The abundant small taxa on hard substrates in deep-sea environments remain understudied and therefore poorly understood. Abundant seepage, tectonic activity, upwelling, and high productivity generate a diverse array of hard substrates including basalts, carbonate rocks, phosphorites, ferromanganese crusts, and sedimentary rocks throughout the Southern California Borderland (SCB), and wood falls are common given the region's proximity to land. A comparative experimental approach was used to examine the influence of hard substrate type on patterns of macrofaunal colonization under different environmental conditions, and particularly revealed the outsized influence of the wood-boring bivalve Xylophaga on macrofaunal colonization both on and near wood substrates. The experimental substrates--w

SUBMITTER: Ullmann A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12674563 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature