title: A review of epiphyte community development: surface interactions and settlement on seagrass.
abstract: A focus of community ecology is the spatial distribution of species assemblages and the interactions among species and abiotic features of the environment. While the ubiquity of species associations is apparent, it is less clear if interactions within a community impart an organizational structure to the community. Do settlement processes in early stages of community development contribute to later community structure? What are the interfacial forces that lead to recruitment and colonization of diverse substrata? This review examines seagrasses as living substrates for epiphyte colonization and the surface interactions which may determine settlement success. These epiphytes include primary producers which contribute to biodiversity and are bioindicators of pollution/nutrient enrichment.
authors.affiliation: Chaminade University of Honolulu, 3140 WaialaeAve, Honolulu, HI 96816, USA. tmichael@chaminade.edu
authors.forename: Teena S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Michael
authors.forename: Hyun Woung
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hanna
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Spafford
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008386:Marine Biology; D063245:Plant Development; D010944:Plants / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*