Habitat preference of Anemonia sulcata in intertidal pools in the North-East Atlantic

Abstract

The distribution patterns and abundance of benthic species in intertidal pools are controlled by spatial and temporal factors. Anemonia sulcata is a common cnidarian in these habitats and its lifestyle is influenced by light conditions, tidal oscillations and sea currents. However, other unknown factors could be affecting its settlement behaviour and distribution patterns. For these reasons, our aim was to know the habitat preference in intertidal pools of A. sulcata of the North coast of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). Results show that A. sulcata prefers rocky substrates over substrates of sand and rock, and also pools with numerous caves. Since previous studies have proven A. sulcata to be a bioindicator of anthropogenic eutrophication, we propose to use our first results as a baseline to monitor annually these coastal ecosystems in order to detect alterations on it, and investigate whether they are natural or human induced.