First record of water bears (Tardigrada) from sponges (Porifera)

Abstract

Aquatic species of Tardigrada usually inhabit submerged plants or sediment but they are also known as associated with other animals, like barnacles (Crustacea: Cirripedia) or sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea). In sponges collected from Lake Ohrid (Macedonia) we found individuals of two tardigrade taxa: Isohypsibius sp. and Dactylobiotus sp. This paper provides the first record of Tardigrada from Macedonia (Lake Ohrid) and is the first report of these animals on sponges.

Tardigrades of North America: First Report of Water Bears on a Freshwater Turtle

“…In addition, there may be animal and debris vectors attached to seaweed (Steiner 1926), drift wood (Miller, Clark, and Miller 2012), or a barnacle on a crab or turtle could facilitate movement. Aquatic tardigrades have been reported on the algae and biofilm found on freshwater sponges in Turkey (Talandai and Zawierucha 2017).…”

“…Indirect evidence of non-wind dispersal has been found in the discovery in North America of Central and South American species which do not have a logical wind pathway. A Costa Rican species (Spears et al 2013) has also been found in Kansas, a southern hemisphere genus has been found in Alaska (Calloway et al 2011), and a species recently described from Argentina was discovered in the canopy of Kansas trees (Tibbs, Emanuels, and Miller 2016).…”