Fauna associated with the colonies of bryozoan (Bryozoa) Pentapora fascialis (Pallas, 1766)

U veljači 2004. godine uzorkovane su dvije masivne kolonije mahovnjaka (Bryozoa) vrste Pentapora fascialis u uvali Grmac u Velebitskom kanalu. Kolonije su uzorkovane s dubina od 20 i 22 m te je na njima istraživana pridružena fauna. Ukupno je utvrđeno devet viših taksonomskih skupina i 109 svojti unutar tih skupina. Taksonomska skupina s najvećim brojem svojti bila je skupina Mollusca s 52 utvrđene svojte. Najčešća svojta bila je vrsta Bittium reticulatum s 85 jedinki, a 29 svojti utvrđene su kao rijetke, sa samo jednom jedinkom. Usporedbom dobivenih podataka s podacima drugih autora, utvrđeno je da su kolonije mahovnjaka vrste P. fascialis u Velebitskom kanalu mjesta velike biološke raznolikosti te ih je kao takve potrebno zaštititi i očuvati.In February 2004 two massive colonies of bryozoan (Bryozoa) Pentapora fascialis were sampled from the depths of 20 and 22 meters in Grmac cove in Velebit Channel. Fauna associated with the colonies have been explored. Altogether, nine higher taxonomic levels have been determined, with 109 species altogether. The most numerous taxon was Mollusca, with 52 determined species. The most common species was Bittium reticulatum, represented with 85 specimens. 29 species were found as rare, represented with only one specimen. In the comparison with data from other authors, it has been established that bryozoan colonies of P. fascialis in the Velebit Channel are indeed hot spots of biodiversity and because of that they need to be protected and conserved