Changes in the stygobiont polychaete community of the Jameos del Agua, Lanzarote, as a result of bioturbation by the echiurid Bonellia viridis

Abstract

The Jameos del Agua is a natural anchialine cave lagoon that has been developed as a tourist attraction. It is semi-illuminated due to a partial collapse of the ceiling (known as "jameo"). A fine carpet of benthic diatoms covers the bottom, in 0.5-2 m depth of water, of the tidally influenced and fully marine lagoon. Interstitial polychaetes inhabit this diatomean carpet and the lava rubble mixed with sand and gravel. During the last decades, the echiurid Bonellia viridis became very abundant and its bioturbation activities have changed the natural bottom conditions. The whitish fecal material from B. viridis formed sediment mounds that sharply contrast with the black volcanic rock. This new habitat have been colonized by several endemic species (e.g., Fauveliopsis jameoaquensis), but also by abundant stygoxene macro-and meiofaunal opportunistic species that compete with the endemic stygobities. The most recent colonizers are mainly deposit-feeding polychaetes that take advantage of the high amount of trophic resources available (e.g., Notomastus spp., Trichobranchus glacialis, Aphelochaeta marioni, Cirrophorus lyra). As a result of the recent colonizations, it is necessary to establish monitoring of the communities and to evaluate the viability of controlling the population of B. viridis in the lagoon, since these alterations can also affect the endemic populations living in the water column.

Phylogeny and systematics of Aphroditiformia

“…Swimming lifestyles seem to enhance fitness in anchialine environments, where most stygobitic species prefer the water column (Iliffe and Kornicker, ; Martínez García et al., ), some of them with remarkable secondary adaptations for drifting in this habitat (Worsaae et al., ; Martínez et al., ; A. Martínez et al., unpublished data). The only other record of scale worms from anchialine caves is within Pholoinae, with an undescribed benthic species of Laubierpholoe found in Túnel de la Atlántida, Lanzarote (Brito et al., ). Unfortunately, specimens were not available for molecular comparisons.…”

New record and new species of Laubierpholoe Pettibone, 1992 (Annelida, Sigalionidae) from the soft bottom of submarine caves near Marseille (Mediterranean Sea) with discussion on phylogeny and ecology of the genus

“…is reported from several anchialine caves in the Canary Islands. This undescribed species was found in the Corona lava tube (Lanzarote Island) in a carpet of benthic diatoms and in the sandy bottom of the Tenerife littoral (Brito et al 2009;Martínez García et al 2009). Riera et al (2018) recorded the same species also from Los Cerebros Cave (Tenerife Island) in sand or gravel sediments.…”

Patterns of diversity and endemism of soft-bodied meiofauna in an oceanic island, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

“…Part of this high species richness is due to the unusually high diversity of certain families such as Nerillidae, which is represented by six species inside the cave, five of them endemic and often co-occurring in the same samples (Núñez et al 1997;Worsaae et al 2009;Worsaae et al this issue a, b). Annelid species richness is high in general in the sediments of Montaña de Arena and Los Jameos del Agua lake (in La Corona lava tube), with a number of marine species present also outside the cave (García-Valdecasas 1985;Núñez et al 1997;Brito et al 2009;Martínez et al 2016). Despite being inside the cave, these sediments resemble marine interstitial environments with comparatively high amounts of trophic resources.…”