20.500.12556/DiRROS-22596 The overlooked suspension feeders the filtering activity of the Bryozoans Schizoporella errata and Bugula neritina in the Northern Adriatic Marine fouling communities, characterized by a high abundance of suspension feeders, play a crucial role in regulating ecosystem services, particularly in improving seawater quality. While not typically prioritized in conservation due to their prevalence in degraded or artificial habitats, fouling communities are important for their ecological functions under increasing urbanization and climate change. Bryozoans are an important component of these communities, although their filtering activity is less understood compared to some other groups, such as bivalves and ascidians. In this paper, we aimed to investigate the filtration activity of two widespread fouling bryozoan species, namely Schizoporella errata and Bugula neritina in the northern Adriatic (Slovenia). We measured the clearance rates (CR) of both the species when fed with microalgae to assess their filtration capacity and determine the most suitable units for quantifying the biofiltration. B. neritina exhibited a higher average CR than S. errata. The maximum CR was 32 mL/(h·cm2 ) for the S. errata and 52 mL/(h·cm2 ) for the B. neritina. Due to the morphological and growth differences between the species, the surface area was determined to be the most appropriate unit for expressing the CR. We also examined the CR of the S. errata exposed to fluorescent microplastic beads and identified active feeding areas within the colonies. Feeding zooids in S. errata were concentrated at the terminal growth margins and elevated areas of the frontal budding, as indicated by a higher fluorescence and microsphere density. These results contribute to the existing knowledge on fouling bryozoans in coastal habitats and provide further insights into their potential role as biofilters and contributors to ecosystem functioning. bryozoans suspension feeders fouling community ecosystem services microplastics Schizoporella errata Bugula neritina mahovnjaki združba obrasti ekosistemske storitve mikroplastika true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Neznano 2025-06-06 15:07:09 2025-06-06 15:07:09 2025-10-24 03:51:44 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 Soavtorji: Borut Mavrič, Petra Slavinec, Lovrenc Lipej; Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Opis vira z dne 30. 5. 2025; str. 1-17 no. 6, [article no.] 1052 Vol. 13 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno apc 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2025-04-08 574.5 2077-1312 10.3390/jmse13061052 237846275 https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/6/1052 1 29f29523-42d7-11f0-963a-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=32716 RAZ_Fortic_Ana_2025.pdf RAZ_Fortic_Ana_2025.pdf 1 4C4B6839A665AAE717B7146BE52DA40F 556b0b40812f9c1a48132d105dde8689f56005d9b37103a16f62d9b79167f02a 3f688a69-42d7-11f0-963a-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=32717 jmse-13-01052-s001.zip jmse-13-01052-s001.zip Dopolnilne informacije Supplementary Materials 1 513B8A0B1328FEF9E8EBF177398480F3 00873f6e0f0f4f90b67e790bafa30d5e1a5f07ea8c143ec1a536675b5f0b2a9b 5a2e63e2-42de-11f0-963a-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=32718 Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo 0 0 0