Hard-bottom bryozoans along the Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea were surveyed at 73 localities. Altogether 3, 298 colonies have been sampled and 211 bryozoan species were found. From total number of found species, 36% have been found along the entire Croatian Adriatic coast. We analysed species according to their abundance, depth distribution and type of substrate on which they grow. Maximum bryozoan diversity was found on deep escarpments with strong currents. Depth distribution of bryozoans showed division into species that inhabit exposed, e.g. shallower habitats of the infralittoral zone, and those that grow in more shadowed hard substratum of the circalittoral zone. Only 7% of species were found growing non-selectively in both infralittoral and circalittoral zones. Much greater insight to understanding morphology and behaviour of bryozoans will be gained from environments with low diversity but high abundance of each species. In high diversity settings, species richness itself is a more important environmental indicator than colonial morphology of any constituent

Depth range
1- 40 m

Mesophotic “mentions”
0 x (total of 3676 words)

Classification
* Presents original data
* Focused on 'mesophotic' depth range

Fields
Biodiversity
Ecology

Focusgroups
Other invertebrates

Locations
Croatia

Platforms
SCUBA (open-circuit or unspecified)