Marine Epibioses

In the marine environment, the water-hard surface interface provides a unique set of habitats where both the biomass accumulation and biodiversity often exceed those found elsewhere in the global ocean by one or two orders of magnitude. As water constitutes an excellent vector for nutrients, all stable surfaces become potential colonization sites for various micro-and macro-organisms. In effect, the availably of unoccupied solid substrata is often a limiting factor for the many marine species whose survival depends on the attachment. Although surface-associated communities contribute significantly to the productivity, stability, and resilience of the shallow-water marine ecosystems, they may also cause nuisance and significant economic losses when settling on man-made structures or colonizing the aquaculture species. Since the biofilms developing on living organisms may enable or disable the normal development of the host, the basibionts have developed a wide range of mechanisms to attract beneficial partners and prevent excessive fouling by potentially harmful species. This arms race has been joined by human engineers and biotechnologists who seek an efficient way to control the growth of unwanted biofoulers.

The goal of this Research Topic is to gather a series of articles tackling the various facets of marine epibioses that will outline the current research trends and progress being made in the understanding of this complex phenomenon. Although mechanisms underlying the establishment of fouling communities have long been studied, the omnipresence of surface associations in the marine environment, the vast diversity of epibionts, as well as almost unlimited range of surface properties characterizing both the potential basibionts and immersed abiotic substrate, make this subject particularly intriguing and only vaguely understood. 

Original Research Articles, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Perspective papers are welcome. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

·      coevolution and interactions between epibionts and basibionts;

·      dispersal, attachment, and survival strategies of marine micro-and macroepibionts;

·      formation, biochemical properties, and ecological function of marine biofilms;

·      ecology, taxonomic composition, and biogeographic patterns of surface-associated communities;

·      quantitative theories and models of surface colonization;

·      antifouling mechanisms;

·      development, characterization, efficiency, and potential negative effects of commercial antifouling agents on the natural environment;

·      effects of pollution and climate change on surface-associated communities;

·      new methodologies and approaches to study marine epibioses.