Tunicate faunas of two North Atlantic-New England islands: Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts and Block Island, Rhode Island

Two unique bays, Great Salt Pond system of Block Island, Rhode Island and Lagoon Pond and adjacent portions of Vineyard Haven Harbor, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, undergoing bay scallop Argopecten irradians irradians restoration had similar tunicate faunas. We found that Great Salt Pond and Lagoon Pond contained similar tunicate fauna dominated by invasive species, Ascidiella aspersa, Botrylloides violaceus, Botryllus schlosseri, Didemnum vexillum and Styela clava, along with native species Aplidium constellatum and Molgula manhattensis and cryptogenic species Ciona intestinalis. In both regions, most tunicate fouling was on artificial surfaces. Tunicate fouling occurred but at lower biomass on natural benthic surfaces including marine plants and algae Ulva lactuca, Sargassum filipendula, Fucus spp., Zostera marina and Codium fragile tomentosoides especially near docks. Tunicates were absent on rocks, free-living scallops, the sedentary snail Crepidula fornicata and open meadows of marine plants.