The epiphyte biomass of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile leaves is mainly related to the substrate leaf availability. It decreases with increasing depth and increases from winter to summer, following the leaf biomass changes. In Revellata Bay (Gulf of Calvi, Corsica), at shallow depth (10 m in this study) where photophilous algae grow, the fixed epifauna biomass accounts for about one third of leaf epiphytes biomass. At deeper depths in the Revellata Bay (20 and 30 m), where shade-tolerant algae are dominant among epiflora, epifauna may account for more than half the leaf epiphytes biomass. |
