Early succession patterns in a Mediterranean vermetid reef

Vermetid reefs are distinctive bioconstructions of the Mediterranean and other warm temperate and subtropical seas. In the Iberian Peninsula the vermetid endemism Dendropoma lebeche Templado et al., 2016 and the coralline alga Neogoniolithon brassica-florida (Harvey) Setchell & Mason are the main biogenic engineers of this natural heritage. However, very few empirical studies deal with their early patterns of succession. We installed two sets of colonization plates in spring (May) and autumn (November) along a healthy vermetid reef on the island Nueva Tabarca (Alicante, SE Iberian Peninsula), to study the early succession patterns of assemblages. Taxonomic composition and the Shannon diversity index were considered over a 1–2 year period. The seasonal month of installation had a detectable effect on taxonomic composition during the first nine months of immersion, also conditioning the diversity pattern. The succession proceeded faster for the May installation set, where both engineering species showed higher cover values from the beginning. Even though there was hardly any three-dimensional accretion on the plates during this study, those that remained well over a year reached Dendropoma densities close to those reported for healthy Mediterranean vermetid reefs. The use of colonization plates as recruitment enhancers could be a potential tool for restoration procedures, because of the minor impact of their installation and the relatively short time required to achieve high vermetid densities. •Vermetid reef succession is strongly affected by seasonality.•Main engineering species show higher cover values as the time since deployment increases.•The number of vermetid recruits are close to those reported in healthy reefs in some plates immersed during two years.•Colonizing artificial plates could be used as recruitment enhancers in some restoration procedures.