Temperature Effects on the Feeding Activity of Marine Bryozoans Membranipora membranacea and Dendrobeania lichenoides

Abstract

Climate change can have a gradual affect on organism interactions gradually in the marine ecosystem which varies in many factors such as temperature. Temperature can alter the feeding habits of marine invertebrates such as bryozoans. There are no known studies on the effects of temperature on the feeding activity of algae by bryozoan (Membranipora membranacea and Dendrobeania lichenoides) colonies found at Friday Harbor, WA. The aim is to study the effects of temperature on bryozoan feeding on algae. Bryozoan colonies (n=10 of each species per treatment) were exposed to three different temperature treatments, 9 ºC, 12 ºC, and 15 ºC. In this study, these species were fed with a 1 to 200 ratio of phytoplankton, Isochrysis sp, and 0.22 μm filtered seawater. The results were inconclusive because the controls were not significantly different from the treatments. This study could have determined the impact of climate change on bryozoans as well as other sessile organisms.