Macroinfaunal invertebrates associated to Cladocora caespitosa (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) in Gökçeada (northern Aegean Sea).

Macro-invertebrates associated with stony coral Cladocora caespitosa were studied around Gökçeada Island (northern Aegean Sea) up to a depth of 15.5 m during the spring of 2019. Twelve dead/partially dead colonies were collected, to which 68 infaunal taxa were found to be associated. The overall number of associated taxa were updated to 397 (406 with macroalgae included). The present study added 26 taxa to the total number of associates. The most abundant group was Polychaeta (61 %), followed by Mollusca (16 %) and Crustacea (9 %). The most abundant species in the area were Syllis gracilis, Perinereis cultrifera, Vermiliopsis striaticeps and Serpula vermicularis. Similar patterns of aggregation were recognized between polychaetes and biota data via PCO plots. DISTLM procedure indicated that 94 % of biota variation was explained by the number of recently necrotized polyps and living polyps. The impact of temperature on biota was underlined in the present study (ANOSIM), however the extent of influence by sea surface temperature on the associated biota remains unclear [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]