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1.
Seepiophila jonesi is a vestimentiferan tubeworm (Siboglinidae: Polychaeta) inhabiting the cold seeps of the upper slope of the Gulf of Mexico. It commonly co‐occurs with Lamellibrachia luymesi, which is among the most long‐lived non‐clonal animals known. The growth pattern of S. jonesi is best described by a model including a size‐specific probability of growth and an average growth rate that does not vary with individual size. This model, based on growth data from in situ staining and collection approximately 1 year later, predicts that S. jonesi is very slow growing and may attain ages comparable with L. luymesi. The efficacy of this model in describing L. luymesi growth rate was assessed, but the previously employed model of declining growth rate with individual size provided the better fit to the empirical data. Comparisons of both S. jonesi and L. luymesi growth rates among sites and among aggregations within a site indicate that there is some degree of habitat variability contributing to differences in growth rates. However, position of the anterior end of the worm within an aggregation did not have a significant effect on growth rate in comparisons among groups of L. luymesi from different distances from the center of an aggregation. The evolution of longevity in these species of vestimentiferans was favored by the relative stability of the seep habitat and sulfide sources, in contrast to the hydrothermal vent environment inhabited by relatively short‐lived and fast‐growing vestimentiferan species.  相似文献   

2.
The consumptive effects of predators are widely acknowledged, but predation can also impact prey populations through non‐consumptive effects (NCEs) such as costly antipredator behavioral responses. The magnitude of antipredator behavioral responses by prey is determined by an assessment of risk using sensory cues, which in turn is modulated by the environmental context. We studied the detection behavior and escape response of the keyhole limpet Fissurella limbata from the predatory sea star Heliaster helianthus. Through laboratory and field experimental trials, we quantified the distance and time of predator detection behavior by the prey, and measured their active escape responses when elicited. We found that predator detection by the limpet was chiefly mediated by distance, with experimental individuals capable of detecting predator presence effectively up to distances of at least 50 cm in the field and 70 cm under laboratory conditions. Our results indicate that this prey species is able to evaluate the proximity of its predator and use it as an indication of predation risk; therefore, predator–prey distance appears to be a primary predictor of the magnitude of the antipredator response. Given the tight relationship between predator distance and prey movement and the important role herbivores can play, particularly in this ecosystem, we expect that NCEs will cascade to the patterns of abundance and composition of rocky shore communities through changes in prey foraging behavior under risk.  相似文献   

3.
Vestimentiferan tubeworms are a group of large sessile marine polychaete annelids (family Siboglinidae) found in the regions of hydrothermal venting or seepage of the reduced chemical hydrogen sulfide. Hydrocarbon seeps on the Louisiana Slope of the Gulf of Mexico support large communities of the co-occurring vestimentiferan species Lamellibrachia luymesi and Seepiophila jonesi. These sessile species have the opportunity to disperse between the patchy sites of active seepage on the seafloor during a planktonic larval stage. However, it is unclear whether dispersal occurs at a local or global scale. Four (L. luymesi) and seven (S. jonesi) microsatellite loci were used to test for population substructure among ten hydrocarbon seep sites on the Louisiana Slope. Both species showed high levels of allelic diversity, averaging 18.5 (L. luymesi) and 22 (S. jonesi) alleles/locus, respectively, and high observed heterozygosity at all microsatellite loci (0.71–0.9 in L. luymesi, 0.27–0.84 in S. jonesi). The two species showed a significant deficiency in heterozygotes compared to that predicted under the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. L. luymesi showed a small but significant amount of population structure, with a positive correlation between genetic and geographic distance among the sample sites spanning 540 km. S. jonesi, in contrast, showed no evidence for isolation by distance, but did show a significant genetic difference between aggregations of different ages. These results suggest that these two species differ in how larvae are able to colonize new seep sites through space (L. luymesi) and though time (S. jonesi).  相似文献   

4.
Patellid limpets are key species on rocky shores, structuring intertidal assemblages through their grazing. Their role as prey for fish is, however, often overlooked in studies of intertidal ecosystem functioning. The shanny Lipophrys pholis is a common predator of limpets on rocky shores in Northern Europe and, in this study, we examined the characteristics of its predation on limpets based on prey size. The limpet size range that adult L. pholis (10–12.5 cm) can eat was examined in the laboratory using Patella depressa in 0.2 cm classes, varying between 0.5 cm and 3.0 cm in maximum shell length. There was a limpet size refuge above 1.8 cm, while all smaller sizes were readily consumed by the shanny. The predator attacking behaviour was also examined and found to vary with prey size. Limpets up to 0.8 cm were crushed by the jaw‐constricting force and eaten whole, whereas larger prey were prised from the substratum and the body subsequently separated from the shell. To examine whether there was a L. pholis preference for P. depressa size, a two‐stage laboratory experiment was done using two size classes defined as small (0.7–0.8 cm maximum shell length) and large (1.5–1.6 cm maximum shell length). In the first stage, the predator was given each limpet size class separately. In the second stage, the fish was given a choice between the two classes. Lipophrys pholis was shown to have a preference for the large size class (1.5–1.6 cm). The average number of limpets consumed by the shanny was examined for the duration of one high‐tide typical of the central region of Portugal (≈ 4 h). On average, approximately five limpets (up to an eight limpet maximum) were consumed. The present study shows that L. pholis has a feeding preference based on limpet size, which suggests that the limpet population structure and intra‐ and inter‐specific interactions may be influenced by the shanny predation.  相似文献   

5.
Several studies in the last 20 years have revealed that morphological asymmetry in fish can be characterized as ‘antisymmetry’. Antisymmetry is a lateral dimorphism in which each population consists of individuals with well‐developed left sides (lefties) and well‐developed right sides (righties). This dimorphism influences predator–prey interactions. In some piscivorous fishes, it has been found that predators can catch more prey of the opposite morphological type to themselves (cross‐predation) than of the same morphological type (parallel‐predation). Our previous work clarified that the predominance of cross‐predation is caused by lateralized behaviors of predators and prey that correspond to their morphological antisymmetry. Moreover, based on the results of our behavioral observations, we hypothesized that parallel‐predation can predominate when predators encounter the potential prey frontally. To test this hypothesis, in the present study we investigated the relationship between lateral morphological types of anglerfish (Lophiomus setigerus) and those of the prey fishes found in their stomachs. Anglerfish attract potential prey using their first dorsal fin (illicium) as a lure, and their frontal encounters with potential prey fishes were photographed in situ and observed in an aquarium. The results of a stomach contents analysis indicated that parallel‐predation predominated in five benthopelagic prey fish species (perches and eels). By contrast, five benthic prey fishes (gobies and weevers) exhibited the predominance of cross‐predation. These results not only demonstrate the predominance of parallel‐predation in a natural fish community, but also suggest that the relationship between morphological types of predator and prey species can be reversed depending on the lifestyle of prey.  相似文献   

6.
Juveniles of both stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus and starry flounder Platichthys stellatus utilize estuaries as nursery grounds. To understand their habitat selection and the functions of habitats such as food supply, we defined the seasonal distribution of recently settled fish of these species in shallow nursery areas and investigated their feeding habits in the Natori River estuary, Japan. Distribution of stone flounder was limited to the lower estuary (<3 km upriver from the mouth) and stone flounder were most abundant near the mouth. Recently settled starry flounder were first detected further upstream in areas characterized by low salinity <10 and by the absence of the predatory sand shrimp Crangon uritai. Early juvenile stone and starry flounders consumed mainly siphons of the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea and the mysid Neomysis awatschensis, respectively; however, 1- and 2-yr-old fish of both stone and starry flounders fed mainly on the bivalve siphons. These results indicate that habitat selections of juvenile stone and starry flounders enable utilization of preferred prey and predator avoidance, respectively, and that non-overlap of these species' habitats results in avoidance of inter-specific competition for food between these two species.  相似文献   

7.
Tubeworms within the annelid family Siboglinidae rely on sulfur-oxidizing autotrophic bacterial symbionts for their nutrition, and are among the dominant metazoans occurring at deep-sea hydrocarbon seeps. Contrary to their relatives from hydrothermal vents, sulfide uptake for symbionts occurs within the anoxic subsurface sediment, in the posterior ‘root’ region of the animal. This study reports on an integrated microbiological and geochemical investigation of the cold seep tubeworm Escarpia southwardae collected at the Regab pockmark (Gulf of Guinea). Our aim was to further constrain the links between the animal and its symbiotic bacteria, and their environment. We show that E. southwardae harbors abundant sulfur-oxidizing bacterial symbionts in its trophosome. Symbionts are able to fix inorganic carbon using the Calvin-Benson cycle, as reported in most other Siboglinidae, but can also use the reverse Tricarboxilic Acid Cycle. Surprisingly, the observed bacteria appear to be more closely related to symbionts of Escarpia and Lamellibrachia species from very distant sites located in the Gulf of Mexico and eastern Pacific, than to symbionts of a siboglinid occurring at a nearby methane seep site, only a few hundred km away from Regab. Then, by combining scanning electron microscopy and trace element (Mn, Fe, Sr, Zr) analyses of E. southwardae tube, we also show that two distinct oxidation fronts occur along the tube. The first one, near the posterior end of the tube, corresponds to the interface between oxic bottom waters and the underlying anoxic sediment. In contrast, the second redox front is located in the most anterior part of the tube, and could result from active oxygen uptake by the plume of the tubeworm. We speculate that intense oxygen consumption in this region could create favorable conditions for sulfate reduction by specialized bacteria associated with the plume, possibly leading to an additional source of dissolved sulfide that would further enhance the productivity of bacterial symbionts.  相似文献   

8.
Predation risk is high for the many small coral reef fishes, requiring successful sheltering or other predator defence mechanisms. Coral‐dwelling gobies of the genus Gobiodon live in close association with scleractinian corals of the genus Acropora. Earlier studies indicated that the low movement frequency of adult fishes and the development of skin toxins (crinotoxicity) are predation avoidance mechanisms. Although past experiments showed that predators refuse food prepared with goby skin mucus, direct predator–prey interactions have not been studied. The present study compares the toxicity levels of two crinotoxic coral gobies – Gobiodon histrio, representative of a conspicuously coloured species, and Gobiodon sp.3 with cryptic coloration – using a standard bioassay method. The results show that toxin levels of both species differ significantly shortly after mucus release but become similar over time. Predator preferences were tested experimentally in an aquarium in which the two gobies and a juvenile damselfish Chromis viridis were exposed to the small grouper Epinephelus fasciatus. Video‐analysis revealed that although coral gobies are potential prey, E. fasciatus clearly preferred the non‐toxic control fish (C. viridis) over Gobiodon. When targeting a goby, the predator did not prefer one species over the other. Contrary to our expectations that toxic gobies are generally avoided, gobies were often captured, but they were expelled quickly, repeatedly and alive. This unusual post‐capture avoidance confirms that these gobies have a very good chance of surviving attacks in the field due to their skin toxins. Nonetheless, some gobies were consumed: the coral shelter may therefore also provide additional protection, with toxins protecting them mainly during movement between corals. In summary, chemical deterrence by crinotoxic fishes seems to be far more efficient in predation avoidance than in physical deterrence involving body squamation and/or strong fin spines.  相似文献   

9.
The Regab pockmark is a large cold seep area located 10 km north of the Congo deep sea channel at about 3160 m water depth. The associated ecosystem hosts abundant fauna, dominated by chemosynthetic species such as the mussel Bathymodiolus aff. boomerang, vestimentiferan tubeworm Escarpia southwardae, and vesicomyid clams Laubiericoncha chuni and Christineconcha regab. The pockmark was visited during the West African Cold Seeps (WACS) cruise with RV Pourquoi Pas? in February 2011, and a 14,000‐m2 high‐resolution videomosaic was constructed to map the most populated area and to describe the distribution of the dominant megafauna (mussels, tubeworms and clams). The results are compared with previous published works, which also included a videomosaic in the same area of the pockmark, based on images of the BIOZAIRE cruise in 2001. The 10‐year variation of the faunal distribution is described and reveals that the visible abundance and distribution of the dominant megafaunal populations at Regab have not changed significantly, suggesting that the overall methane and sulfide fluxes that reach the faunal communities have been stable. Nevertheless, small and localized distribution changes in the clam community indicate that it is exposed to more transient fluxes than the other communities. Observations suggest that the main megafaunal aggregations at Regab are distributed around focused zones of high flux of methane‐enriched fluids likely related to distinct smaller pockmark structures that compose the larger Regab pockmark. Although most results are consistent with the existing successional models for seep communities, some observations in the distribution of the Regab mussel population do not entirely fit into these models. This is likely due to the high heterogeneity of this site formed by the coalescence of several pockmarks. We hypothesize that the mussel distribution at Regab could also be controlled by the occurrence of zones of both intense methane fluxes and reduced efficiency of the anaerobic oxidation of methane possibly limiting tubeworm colonization.  相似文献   

10.
Moon snail predation on clams is a common model system of predator–prey interactions. In this system, the predator bores through the shell of its prey, leaving a distinct and identifiable hole. Some paleoecological and behavioral research on moon snails suggests a trend in predation preference directed toward clams with small shells. Rarely, however, have studies tested relative drilling frequencies across species and size ranges in natural assemblages of clam communities. We examined the clam community composition at two beaches in South Carolina, USA, and we then tested moon snail predator preferences for (a) clam prey species and (b) whether their selection is related to prey shell size. We collected a total of 1,879 clam shells, identified each shell to species and recorded their anteroposterior length. The species composition of clams differed significantly between the two beaches; Anadara ovalis was dominant at both sites, but three of ten total species were only collected at one beach. Folly Beach had nearly a 60% higher the overall drilling frequency (34.6%) versus Edisto Beach (21.8%), and this may be linked to the differences in clam community compositions at the sites. For A. ovalis and Mulinia lateralis, shells with larger lengths have lower probabilities of being bored by a moon snail. Anadara brasiliana, which generally is a thinner‐shelled clam species, had the highest total drilling frequency (77.2%), and Noetia ponderosa, a thicker‐shelled clam, had a considerably lower drilling frequency (12.0%). We conclude that both community level factors (species composition) and population characteristics (shell size distributions) may influence the local drilling frequency by moon snails.  相似文献   

11.
Prey availability is one of the most important factors affecting the quality of nursery grounds. Estuaries play an important role as nursery grounds for juvenile stone flounder, but the mechanism behind the consistently high availability of prey has never been examined. This study investigates which prey is mainly selected by juvenile stone flounder (15–55 mm standard length) in the estuary of the Natori River, northern Japan. In a cage experiment, juveniles showed positive selection for the palps of the spionid polychaete Pseudopolydora kempi in March, and for the siphons of the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea in April, May and June in both sandy and muddy-sand habitats. This selective predation showed that sublethal predation on regenerable parts of invertebrates is important for stone flounder. Nuttallia olivacea, the dominant bivalve in the estuary, was more abundant and in better somatic condition in the sandy area in spite of the stronger siphon-cropping pressure by juvenile stone flounder. These results confirm that sublethal predation on highly abundant benthos plays an important role in forming estuarine habitats into areas of high prey availability for juvenile stone flounder, which leads to their high growth rate.  相似文献   

12.
The vestimentiferan tubeworm Ridgeia piscesae is an ecosystem-structuring organism in the hydrothermal vent environments of the Northeast Pacific. During this study, a single representative aggregation of the long-skinny morphotype of R. piscesae from the main endeavor segment was monitored for 3 yr before being collected in its entirety with a hydraulically actuated collection device manipulated in situ by a research vehicle. Vestimentiferan growth rates in this aggregation were determined by staining the exterior of the tubes and measuring newly deposited tube sections. The average growth rate of R. piscesae in this aggregation was very low in both years of the growth study (3.2 mm yr−1). Although the incidence of plume damage from partial predation was very high (>95%), mortality was very low (<4% yr−1). The distribution and the very tight clustering of recently recruited individuals indicated gregarious settlement behavior that is hypothesized to be partly due to biotic cues from settled larvae. Coupled measurements of vent fluid sulfide concentration and temperature were used to calculate the exposure of the vestimentiferans to sulfide from short- and long-term temperature monitoring. Plume-level temperature records indicate that most of the time individuals in this aggregation were exposed to extremely low levels of vent fluid, and therefore sulfide (<0.1 μM), while their posterior sections were consistently exposed to sulfide concentrations in the 100 μM range. A rootball-like structure formed the common base of the aggregation. In contrast to the anterior sections of the tubeworm tubes, the portions of the tubes within the “rootball” were freely permeable to sulfide. The results of this study show that R. piscesae, unlike vestimentiferans from the East Pacific Rise, can survive and grow in areas of low diffuse vent flow with very low plume-level exposure to sulfide. We propose that this morphotype of R. piscesae has the ability to acquire sulfide from sources near their posterior ends, similar to some species of cold seep vestimentiferans from the Gulf of Mexico. The ability of this single species of vestimentiferan to survive low exposure to vent flow with low mortality coupled with sulfide uptake across posterior tube sections may help explain the occurrence of a single vent vestimentiferan species in a wide variety of habitat conditions at hydrothermal vent sites in the Northeast Pacific.  相似文献   

13.
Many animals are sexually dimorphic, but the underlying evolutionary causes and ecological consequences of sexual dimorphism are not fully understood. One predicted consequence for sexual dimorphism is that different sexes show niche differentiation. If sexual dimorphism is in feeding appendages, then differences may be manifested by different diets and thus contrasting behavioural responses to potential prey. Sexual dimorphisms in feeding appendages may also result in different handling times, which may then be correlated with differences in exposure, and, hence predation risk to the predator while feeding. In addition, the prey of the sexually dimorphic predator may respond differently to cues from each sex according to the predation risk each presents to the prey. We tested these predictions using a crab (Carcinus maenas) with sexual dimorphism in chelae dimensions, its predator the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis and prey with known differences in handling times; the gastropod molluscs Gibbula umbilicalis and Littorina littorea. We demonstrated that male C. maenas orientated more frequently to cues from L. littorea whereas females orientated more towards G. umbilicalis in contradiction of patterns predicted by handling times. Male crabs had a faster heart rate than females but this was not influenced by food‐based cues. We also showed no difference in foraging times with respect to changing levels of predator risk and also no differences in gastropod responses to odours from male or female crabs. Our results showed that predictions of handling time and sexual dimorphism are not associated. The experiments indicated the male and female crabs are probably ecological equivalents and thus niche differentiation is less likely.  相似文献   

14.
Octopuses are active predators that feed on a wide range of prey including crustaceans, fishes, and mollusks. They are important components of coral reef systems and support local and artisanal fisheries in the Gulf of México. Octopus insularis has been found to be one of the most relevant components in catches from the coral reef system of Veracruz in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, and its role in the ecosystem requires assessment. To corroborate the morphological identification of O. insularis, six octopuses were identified by genetic methods. And to understand the trophic relationships between this octopus species and its prey, 394 octopuses caught during 2016 and 2017 by an artisanal fleet were sampled and their stomach contents analyzed. Results showed that crustaceans are the most frequently consumed group, with the genera Mithraculus and Etisus being the most important in the diet. Fishes, bivalves, and gastropods were identified as uncommon prey items in the diet. Their presence in the stomachs could be related to the movement of this octopus outside of the coral reef. Considering that our samples were of medium‐ and large‐sized individuals, cannibalism could be discarded for O. insularis in this size range in the Veracruz reef system. These findings suggest a generalist and opportunistic predation of O. insularis on the most abundant and available prey in the study area, namely the crustaceans. These represents an effective transfer of biomass from the low trophic levels to top predators in the coral reef system.  相似文献   

15.
We have studied two congeneric limid bivalves, Acesta species novum and Acesta excavata (Bivalvia: Limidae), that live in similar physical conditions but use different food sources. Acesta sp. nov. live on the giant siboglinid tubeworm Lamellibrachia luymesi at cold seeps and feed on their eggs, a continuous food source that ultimately is derived from chemosynthesis, whereas A. excavata relies on planktonic food of photosynthetic origin, which varies seasonally. We hypothesized that these two species might show differences in the periodicity of reproduction; specifically, we predicted that A. sp. nov. would breed continuously and that A. excavata would demonstrate an annual reproductive cycle. Our hypothesis was refuted, as both species have a semi‐continuous reproductive cycle. Food quality, quantity or seasonality had no clear effect. Reproductive adults are functionally gonochoristic. Females broadcast buoyant eggs with an average size of 179 μm in A. sp. nov. and 160 μm in A. excavata. Both the size of the larval shell and the size of the spawned eggs are suggestive of pelagic lecithotrophic development. Both species also appear to be protandric hermaphrodites, changing from male to female at approximately 77 and 90 mm shell height, respectively, although not all individuals change sex. In the material investigated in this study there was a biased sex ratio favouring males.  相似文献   

16.
We analysed several life history traits of the marine isopod Idotea balthica basteri (Pallas, 1772) from the Bizerte lagoon, Southern Mediterranean Sea. Growth was continuous throughout the life of the animal with a high growth rate in the first life phase, and the growth curve was described according to von Bertalanffy's model. The lowest growth rate (0.23 mm) was recorded in winter (December, January and February) and the maximum rate (2.31 mm) between April and June. The total number of hatched eggs or embryos was positively correlated with the body length of ovigerous females. This population of I. balthica basteri was iteroparous, showing distinct strategies of reproduction. Large ovigerous females with high fecundity were collected during the whole sampling period, while breeding in smaller females with low fecundity was restricted to the period from late spring to early autumn, Manca size increased significantly with increasing female body size and there was also a significant trade‐off between manca size and the number of eggs per brood. Reproductive allocation, ranging between 17.1 ± 1.2% in winter and 23.2 ± 1.8% in summer, was positively correlated with female weight. Accordingly, parental investment in producing a juvenile varied between 1.02% per manca in winter to 3.38% in spring. Evaluated traits show that late summer and autumn cohorts have a K‐strategy, whereas cohorts born in winter and spring, and which exhibit a shorter life time, exhibit faster development, earlier reproduction and a smaller parental investment tending towards an r‐selected strategy.  相似文献   

17.
The mangrove crab Aratus pisonii was considered to have an amphi‐American distribution; however, a recent study revealed that the Eastern Tropical Pacific populations were genetically distinct, thus representing a new species: Aratus pacificus. These species separated by the Isthmus of Panama have diverged under different environmental conditions that may have influenced their reproductive biology. As the available information about this genus concerns almost exclusively the Caribbean species, the aim of the present study was to analyse and compare reproductive aspects of A. pacificus and A. pisonii obtained from both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica. Females were collected from April 2011 to April 2012, and reproductive features such as breeding season, size distribution of ovigerous females, fecundity, reproductive output, embryo volume and embryo water content were assessed. Both species produced embryos during the entire sampled period. Most females of A. pacificus carrying embryos close to hatching were found during the rainy season. Ovigerous females of A. pisonii were substantially larger and reached sexual maturity at a larger size than females of A. pacificus. Embryo production started in A. pacificus at a smaller female size than in A. pisonii. As fecundity increased with female size, the average fecundity was lower in A. pacificus. Females of A. pisonii produced larger embryos, which might be related to lower food availability: higher energy content in the embryo enhances the chances of larval survival. These data regarding reproductive features of the Pacific and Caribbean species support the conclusion to separate A. pacificus from A. pisonii.  相似文献   

18.
The Finite Element Ocean circulation Model (FEOM) is applied to study the sensitivity of density driven overflows to the vertical discretization and bottom topography representation using the dynamics of overflow mixing and entrainment (DOME) setup. FEOM allows for hybrid grids combining σ, z + σ, full cell, partly shaved cell and fully shaved cell grids within the same numerical kernel thus isolating as far as possible effects of mesh geometry from those of model numerics. The sensitivity of diapycnal mixing, entrainment, plume thickness and plume meridional distribution to vertical discretization and partly to the subgrid process parameterization is explored. It is shown that simulations on pure σ grids or the combination of z + σ resolve the overflow processes best in terms of downslope plume propagation, plume thickness and dilution, and also have the least resolution dependence. Grids using z-levels generate excessive spurious mixing when resolution is insufficient. Applying partial cells improves the plume representation, but still requires higher horizontal and vertical resolution to converge to the σ grid results. It is demonstrated that increasing lateral viscosity causes the plume thickness to reduce whereas increasing lateral diffusivity has opposite effect. When keeping the Prandtl number constant, the increase in diffusivity and viscosity leads to an increase in mixing and plume thickness on z-level grids and also on σ-grids when lateral dissipation is oriented along geopotential surfaces. Using the along σ- diffusion helped to obtain correct plume thickness and entrainment on σ grids. Increasing the vertical mixing coefficients leads to an increase in diapycnal mixing and in downslope penetration as well.  相似文献   

19.
The parrotfish Sparisoma viride often grazes live coral from edges undermined by the Caribbean encrusting and excavating sponge Cliona tenuis. To test whether parrotfish biting action has an effect on the dynamics of the sponge–coral interaction, we manipulated access of parrotfishes to the sponge–coral border in two species of massive corals. When parrotfish had access to the border, C. tenuis advanced significantly more slowly into the coral Siderastrea siderea than into the coral Diploria strigosa. When fish bites were prevented, sponge spread into S. siderea was further slowed down but remained the same for D. strigosa. Additionally, a thinner layer of the outer coral skeleton was removed by bioerosion when fish were excluded, a condition more pronounced in D. strigosa than in S. siderea. Thus, the speed of sponge‐spread and the extent of bioerosion by parrotfish was coral species‐dependent. It is hypothesized that coral skeleton architecture is the main variable associated with such dependency. Cliona tenuis spread is slow when undermining live S. siderea owing to the coral’s compact skeleton. The coral’s smooth and hard surface promotes a wide and shallow parrotfish bite morphology, which allows the sponge to overgrow the denuded area and thus advance slightly faster. On the less compact skeleton of the brain coral, D. strigosa, sponge spread is more rapid. This coral’s rather uneven surface sustains narrower and deeper parrotfish bites which do not facilitate the already fast sponge progress. Parrotfish corallivory thus acts synergistically with C. tenuis to further harm corals whose skeletal architecture slows sponge lateral spread. In addition, C. tenuis also appears to mediate the predator–prey fish–coral interaction by attracting parrotfish biting.  相似文献   

20.
The diet of Pomatoschistus microps has been studied using both gut content and stable isotope analyses. In the Roscoff Aber Bay (Brittany, France), this fish is commonly found on sandy muddy intertidal flats. Gut content analyses were also interpreted using trophic indices. Owing to the large diversity of prey consumed, these indices emphasised the opportunistic feeding behaviour of P. microps. Here, this species fed mainly on endofauna with meiofauna being of high relative importance. The main biotic components of its trophic habitat, characterized by δ13C and δ15N, provided evidence of a major trophic pathway based on drift Enteromorpha sp. Trophic positions estimated by both diet analyses and isotopic analyses led to similar results. In this bay, P. microps is a first‐order predator with a low degree of omnivory. Despite a preferential consumption of the amphipod Corophium arenarium, we assumed that this goby behaves as a generalist feeding on a uniform variety of endofauna taxa.  相似文献   

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