Serpulid settlement on recruitment tiles in Baffin Bay, Texas from 2020-09-23 to 2023-03-10

Recruitment tile arrays were constructed and placed on the bay bottom at three locations adjacent to existing serpulid reef (within 600 m) in Baffin Bay, Texas. For each array, two 10 cm2 PVC tiles (3 mm thickness) were sanded and affixed with horizontal orientation to a sampling tray (0.45 x 0.30 m, 0.1 m height) using cable ties (= zip ties). On each tray, one tile was caged using a stainless-steel basket lined with 1 cm mesh, and one tile was left exposed. The purpose of the cages was to determine any effects of predation. Recruitment tile arrays were deployed on 23 September 2020 and retrieved and replaced quarterly for 18 months (December 2020 to March 2023). On each retrieval date, one set of caged and open tiles was collected and replaced with clean tiles. Retrieved tiles were preserved in 10% buffered formalin for future assessment of both top and bottom surfaces. The total number of tile replicates analyzed was 120: 2 caged treatments (caged and uncaged) x 2 vertical surfaces (top and bottom) x 3 locations (R1, R2, R3) x 10 dates.