Distribution, food preference, and trophic position of the corallivorous fireworm Hermodice carunculata in a Caribbean coral reef

Bristle worms attack: benthic jellyfish are not trophic dead ends

“…In every case, once predation began, Cassiopea excreted substantial amounts of mucus and exhibited faster bell pulsation rates. No worms fed on the ballyhoo, which was unexpected given that H carunculata have previously been shown to prefer dead fish over live coral prey (Wolf et al . 2014).…”

Unusual “Knob-Like Chimney” Growth Forms on Acropora Species in the Caribbean

“…H. carunculata is an opportunistic species that can regenerate asexually (Ott and Lewis, 1972). This corallivore has a high adaptability and may be a threat to the already stressed corals (Wolf et al, 2014;Schulze et al, 2017). Nevertheless, it is highly unlikely that fireworm predation occurs across all knobs.…”

“…The coral-eating snail Coralliophila abbreviata (Lamarck, 1816) was found to be associated with white band disease (Baums et al, 2003;Williams and Miller, 2005;Gignoux-Wolfsohn et al, 2012), and H. carunculata was found to be associated with the coralbleaching pathogen Vibrio shiloi (Sussman et al, 2003). Both corallivores target stressed colonies and eat the decaying tissue of diseased corals (Miller and Williams, 2007;Wolf et al, 2014).…”

“…Further investigations on the spatial patterns of predation by damselfish and polychaetes (fireworms), as well as their abundances, recruitment and relationship to knob growth patterns is warranted. Monitoring present lesions and conducting new coral-wound regeneration experiments in the field under different environmental conditions may reveal the aspects that are key to recovery and algal/coral interactions (Precht et al, 2010;Wolf et al, 2014). These studies could be conducted using field assessments such as permanent transects, colony tagging, and lesion monitoring using photographs and videos.…”

Editorial: biodiversity of Caribbean coral reefs (with a focus on the Dutch Caribbean)

“…In addition to professional scientists, students were also accommodated by CARMABI, which resulted in a considerable number of marine biodiversity publications based on graduate school research over five decades (e.g., Roos 1964Roos , 1971Bak 1975;Westinga and Hoetjes 1981;De Weerdt 1984;Van Duyl 1985;Vonk 1988Vonk , 1989Vonk , 1990Meesters et al 1991;Nagelkerken et al 2001;Diekmann et al 2002;Vermeij et al 2003;Dorenbosch et al 2004;Frade et al 2008;Reijnen et al 2010;Snijders and Fransen 2010;Van der Meij 2014;Wolf et al 2014;De Bakker et al 2016;Van Tienderen and Van der Meij 2016;Böhm and Hoeksema 2017;Potkamp et al 2017). In addition, research vessels of the Royal Netherlands Navy performed scientific surveys in the Caribbean and other parts of the Atlantic, such as an expedition to Saba Bank in 1972 ( Van der Land 1977;Hoeksema et al 2011).…”