Nitrogen transfer in a Caribbean mutualistic network

Cantrell, Channing; Henry, Raymond P.; Chadwick, Nanette E.

doi:10.1007/s00227-015-2767-9

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…The highly dynamic nature of individuals of B. annulata has important implications for the mutualistic network in which this anemone is a hub (Cantrell et al 2015). The crustacean associates of B. annulata are expected to be highly dynamic in terms of migration among host anemones (as known for anemoneshrimps in other systems, Chadwick et al 2008) as they depart from senescing individuals and colonize recently recruited hosts on the reef.…”

Section: Management Implications and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population dynamics of corkscrew sea anemones Bartholomea annulata in the Florida Keys

O’Reilly¹,

Chadwick²

2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Corkscrew sea anemones Bartholomea annulata are important ecologically as hubs of a mutualistic network involving cleaner shrimps and client fishes on Caribbean reefs. They also are collected for the ornamental aquarium trade, but little is known about their population dynamics to support conservation management. We quantified variation in population structure among regions of the Florida Keys and levels of human impact within region. The Upper Keys and lowimpact sites supported higher population abundance and proportions of small anemones than the Lower Keys and high-impact sites. At 2 sites where we monitored anemone dynamics every 2 mo for 1 yr, individuals recruited frequently and grew rapidly to maximum body size and then remained static or shrank. Fewer than half the individuals survived all year, indicating rapid population turnover, with mortality occurring mostly among small individuals or large ones that appeared to senesce beforehand. Stasis of large individuals (or lack thereof) exerted the most influence on population size. We conclude that in Florida, corkscrew anemones experience relatively high recruitment and survival at sites with low human impact and in the Upper Keys, where summer water temperatures are cooler than in the Lower Keys. Populations are highly dynamic and appear to rely on frequent recruitment, potentially linked to the presence of resident adults at high enough abundances for fertilization of broadcast propagules. The ephemeral nature of these anemones has important implications for the dynamics of their anemoneshrimp symbionts, for reef fishes that utilize them as parasite cleaning stations, and for the conservation management of their populations.

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Section: Management Implications and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population dynamics of corkscrew sea anemones Bartholomea annulata in the Florida Keys

O’Reilly¹,

Chadwick²

2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…As a result of this severe population decline, the FWC recently enacted a ban on the commercial collection of C. gigantea in Florida (myfwc.com). As B. annulata hosts the most diverse assemblage of crustacean symbionts, including cleaner shrimps, in the tropical western Atlantic (Briones-Fourzan et al 2012), the ecological impacts of overharvesting to reef communities across multiple trophic levels (Huebner & Chadwick 2012a,b;Cantrell et al 2015;Titus et al 2015b) deserve further attention.…”

Section: Locusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The corkscrew sea anemone Bartholomea annulata (LE SUEUR 1817) is the most abundant actiniarian species on Caribbean coral reefs (Briones-Fourzan et al 2012), and is ecologically important because it hosts the obligate cleaner shrimp Ancylomenes pedersoni as well as a variety of other crustacean symbionts (Mahnken 1972;Knowlton & Keller 1985;Briones-Fourzan et al 2012;Huebner & Chadwick 2012a,b;Cantrell et al 2015;Titus & Daly 2015;Titus et al 2015a,b). Individuals of B. annulata reproduce sexually through broadcast-spawning and asexually via pedal laceration (Cary 1911;Jennison 1981).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting abundance and contribution of clonal proliferation to the population structure of the corkscrew sea anemone Bartholomea annulata in the tropical Western Atlantic

Titus

Daly

Macrander

et al. 2017

Invertebrate Biology

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Clonal propagation is an important life history trait for many sessile organisms, and often leads to the formation of monoclonal aggregations. In the marine environment, sea anemones have been model species for testing theory regarding the evolution of sex and understanding the contribution of sexual versus asexual reproduction to the population structure in facultatively clonal animals. However, little attention has been paid to tropical actiniarians. The corkscrew anemone Bartholomea annulata is common in tropical marine habitats in the western Atlantic and Caribbean; it forms small aggregations (2–4 anemones) on coral reefs and larger aggregations (>10 anemones) in mangrove habitats. We used field surveys and molecular analyses to investigate patterns of distribution, abundance, and genetic structure of aggregations formed by B. annulata on a reef in the US Virgin Islands and in a unique mangrove habitat in the Florida Keys. Abundance was greatest at the abandoned rock quarry mangrove habitat in the Florida Keys, where anemones formed continuously distributed aggregations carpeting the exposed limestone walls. Genetic diversity assessed via intersimple sequence repeats (ISSRs) and six microsatellite loci revealed that asexual reproduction plays only a minor role in the formation of both small and large anemone aggregations. Specifically, ISSR analyses showed that only ~10% of anemone aggregations were clonal in the US Virgin Islands, while microsatellite genotyping identified clonality in only 1 of 35 aggregations. In the Florida Keys, only four clonal genotypes were recovered within aggregations, but eight clones, representing 33% of the total surveyed population, had individuals in multiple aggregations. Thus, population structure of B. annulata appears to rely primarily on sexual reproduction, although asexual reproduction may play a nontrivial role in some environments. Mechanisms that drive the formation of genotypically diverse aggregations remain unknown, but may include attraction toward conspecifics, shared use of preferred habitats, or the local retention of larvae in partially enclosed habitats.

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“…Sea anemones host some of the most well-recognized symbioses in the marine environment, forming complex relationships with both micro-and macro-organisms (Dunn 1981, Huebner andChadwick 2012a,b). Some species of sea anemones serve as hubs of mutualistic networks that provide ecological benefits from individual to community levels (reviewed in Cantrell et al 2015). Sea anemones may host obligate symbionts such as single-celled microalgae Symbiodinium (zooxanthellae) within their gastrodermal tissues, as well as fish and crustacean exosymbionts on their body surfaces, including anemone fishes and cleaner shrimps (Chadwick et al 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overharvest in the Florida Keys threatens populations of C. gigantea, which recently were banned from commercial harvest, with the ban extended due to a 3-yr lack of population recovery (Sheridan et al 2015). The loss of ecologically-important sea anemones and their associates from coral reefs may create cascade effects that impact entire communities (reviewed in Cantrell et al 2015). When sea anemones are removed at rates that exceed their natural capacities for population recovery, anemone shrimp-operated cleaning stations decline in abundance, leading potentially to increased fish parasite loads and fish mortality, and ultimately decreases in fish abundance and diversity.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat segregation and population structure of Caribbean sea anemones and associated crustaceans on coral reefs at Akumal Bay, Mexico

Colombara

Quinn

Chadwick

2017

bms

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Sea anemones and associated crustaceans are important components of coral reefs, but their population structure and microhabitat use remain poorly understood. We quantified both types of patterns for two sea anemone and 10 crustacean species at Akumal Bay, Mexico. Rosetip anemones, Condylactis gigantea (Weinland, 1860), occurred as solitary individuals on patch reefs throughout the midbay, while sun anemones, Stichodactyla helianthus (Ellis, 1768), formed dense aggregations on reef patches in the inner bay. Both populations were abundant with exponential size distributions that indicated potentially high recruitment and stable population structure. Individuals of corkscrew anemones, Bartholomea annulata (Le Sueur, 1817), were too rare to analyze their population structure. Crustaceans significantly segregated their microhabitat use among zones on the anemone bodies. Most exhibited exponential size structure, but the chaotic size patterns of some crustaceans suggested recently-sporadic recruitment. We report a previously undocumented association of blue-legged hermit crabs, Clibanarius tricolor (Gibbes, 1850), and anemones; crabs clustered along the anemone columns, and possessed an external, removable coating that protected them from host toxins. We conclude that some anemones and crustacean associates exhibit strong partitioning of habitat and stable population structure on these coral reefs.

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Nitrogen transfer in a Caribbean mutualistic network

Cited by 14 publications

References 61 publications

Population dynamics of corkscrew sea anemones Bartholomea annulata in the Florida Keys

Population dynamics of corkscrew sea anemones Bartholomea annulata in the Florida Keys

Contrasting abundance and contribution of clonal proliferation to the population structure of the corkscrew sea anemone Bartholomea annulata in the tropical Western Atlantic

Habitat segregation and population structure of Caribbean sea anemones and associated crustaceans on coral reefs at Akumal Bay, Mexico

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