Epibiont–basibiont interactions: examination of ecological factors that influence specialization in a two-sponge association between Geodia vosmaeri (Sollas, 1886) and Amphimedon erina (de Laubenfels, 1936)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine what ecological benefits Geodia vosmaeri (Gv) and Amphimedon erina (Ae) gain from their symbiosis. The prevailing, though untested, hypotheses are that Ae protects Gv from predators through chemical defenses and that Gv provides Ae access to substrata. Data from our experiments support these hypotheses. During field surveys, Ae was never found growing without Gv in this habitat. Ae was the only epibiont on 81% of the Gv surveyed. Field feeding assays using chemical extracts indicated that Ae is less palatable than Gv. Laboratory feeding assays using sponge tissue demonstrated that spongivorous sea stars avoided contact with Ae tissue and frequently accepted

Breakthrough in Marine Invertebrate Cell Culture: Sponge Cells Divide Rapidly in Improved Nutrient Medium

“…Geodia sp. (reported as Geodia vosmaeri 36 ) is in the process of being re-described (Cardenas, personal communication), but it is an easily recognized species in shallow water grass flats off the coast of south Florida.…”

Ecological impacts of the austral‐most population of Crassostrea gigas in South America: a matter of time?

“…In the case of C. gigas, the settlement of large epibionts may increase the risk of dislodgement, reduce growth, increase the susceptibility to predation or affect feeding activities of oysters (Buschbaum and Reise 1999;Thieltges 2005a;da Gama et al 2008). On the other hand, water-retaining epibionts can slow down oyster desiccation or even camouflage them from predators (Thieltges 2005b;Ramsby et al 2012). Thereby, performing experimental studies of the potential effects of epibiosis could be useful to have a complete scenario of the impact of C. gigas on the communities.…”

Molecular and Functional Ecology of Sponges and Their Microbial Symbionts

“…Symbioses between sponges and macroalgae have been observed in many marine ecosystems (Vacelet 1981;Palumbi 1985;Rützler 1990;Wulff 1997;Grant and Hinde 1999;Trautman et al 2000;Davy et al 2002;Calcinai et al 2006;Carballo et al 2006;Ávila et al 2007;Azzini et al 2008). Epizoic, possibly mutualistic, sponge:sponge symbioses have also been recorded in diverse habitats (Rützler 1970;Wulff 1997, 2008a,b, Wilcox et al 2002Ramsby et al 2012).…”

“…Sponge-mediated benthic:pelagic coupling influences properties of marine habitats in profound ways (Reiswig 1971a(Reiswig ,b, 1974(Reiswig , 1981Corredor et al 1988;Riisgard et al 1993;Pile et al 1996Pile et al , 1997Diaz and Ward 1997;Savarese et al 1997;Turon et al 1997, Ribes et al 1999, Lynch & Phlips 2000, Yahel et al 2003Lesser 2006;Peterson et al 2006;Wehrl et al 2007;Perea-Blázquez et al 2012;Lesser and Slattery 2013). Sponges appear to contribute to the population dynamics of phytoplankton and benthic algae (e.g., Peterson et al 2006;Lesser 2006, Lesser andSlattery 2013), sponges are dominant competitors for space (Hill 1998), and sponges serve as prey and habitat for other organisms (Westinga & Hoetjes 1981, Duffy 1992Hill 1998;Ramsby et al 2012). Thus, in marine habitats, sponges perform ecosystem services with far-reaching effects on community structure.…”