The ultimate opportunists: consumers of seston

Coma, Rafael; Ribes, Marta; Gili, Josep María; Hughes, Roger N.

doi:10.3354/meps219305

Cited by 78 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…3d). In contrast to reports on reef corals whose reproduction and recruitment seem to be inhibited by high sedimentation load (Fabricius 2005), sediment may actually represent an additional food source for large resuspension feeders such as P. clavata (Rosenfeld et al 1999), which have been defined as the 'ultimate consumer of seston' (Coma et al 2001). Moreover, due to polyp rejection activity, P. clavata colonies could act as a living filter, reducing sediment on the vertical wall.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Unexpected long-term population dynamics in a canopy-forming gorgonian coral following mass mortality

Cupido¹,

Cocito²,

Barsanti³

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Gorgonian corals are long-lived, slow-growing species exhibiting slow population dynamics. Demographic data collected over a period of 11 yr on a small population of temperate, canopyforming gorgonians dwelling near the edge of the summer thermocline in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea enabled us to assess its responses to the large mortality events that occurred in 1999 and 2003. Changes in population density, size structure and recruitment were examined. Overall, 2101 adult colonies and recruits were observed in situ and 240 photographic plots analyzed. During the first 3 years (2004 to 2006) after the mass mortalities, our measurements revealed a dramatic reduction in the density of healthy colonies (90% suffered total or partial mortality), a shift in the dominant size class towards smaller size and a significant reduction in recruitment. In the following years (2007 to 2008) a significant recovery of injured colonies was found, with almost complete detachment of the dead colonies, a reduction in mortality and a 4-fold increase in recruitment. These findings indicate clear-cut restoration trends of the population, suggesting that recovery after extensive mortality could be faster than predicted by our current knowledge of gorgonian population dynamics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Unexpected long-term population dynamics in a canopy-forming gorgonian coral following mass mortality

Cupido¹,

Cocito²,

Barsanti³

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…These organisms feed on a wide spectrum of particles transported horizontally and vertically (Wotton 1994;Wildish and Kristmanson 1997). Sessile organisms interact with currents at individual, colony, population, and community levels, efficiently capturing available prey and coupling their biological cycles to stochastic environmental changes (Coma et al 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protein, carbohydrate, lipid concentrations and HSP 70–HSP 90 (stress protein) expression over an annual cycle: useful tools to detect feeding constraints in a benthic suspension feeder

2005

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Protein, carbohydrate, lipid concentrations and HSP 70-HSP 90 (stress protein) expression over an annual cycle: useful tools to detect feeding constraints in a benthic suspension feeder Abstract In the present paper we suggest an effect of seasonal variations in food availability on two ecophysiological parameters in a warm temperate benthic suspension feeder: the tissue concentrations of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids on the one hand, and the expression of stress proteins (HSP 70 and 90, inducible and/or constitutive) on the other hand. The concentrations of biomacromolecules have already been used to describe bentho-pelagic and reproductive processes, but this is the first time that stress protein expression is suggested to be directly related with food constraints in marine organisms. Paramuricea clavata (Cnidaria: Gorgonacea) express HSP 70 and 90 (constitutive and/ or inducible) throughout the seasonal cycle, and HSP 70 levels are twice as high as the levels of HSP 90. In summer and autumn, when seston availability to suspension feeders was low, P. clavata showed low levels of carbohydrates and lipids, but high levels of HSPs expression. The levels of HSP 70 and 90 expression fit with negative exponential functions of carbohydrate and lipid concentrations. We suggest a direct effect of food availability on the studied ecophysiological parameters while the effect of temperature may be rather indirect. HSP expression as well as the tissue concentrations of carbohydrate and lipids may be used as biomarkers of environmental changes and seston availability to benthic suspension feeders.

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“…However, often sponges will dominate the diversity and biomass at the lower levels of the photic zone and deeper on many of the world's continental margins, including southwestern Australia (Fromont et al 2011), the location of our study. Sponges have developed a range of adaptations that have made them highly successful; they filter huge volumes of seawater (Reiswig 1971;Weisz et al 2008), consuming bacteria and picoplankton and retaining these very small particles not selected by other filter feeders (Reiswig 1975;Coma et al 2001;Hanson et al 2009). They have developed a range of bacterial and algal mutualisms, which provide benefits to the host and contribute to biogeochemical and ecological processes.…”

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confidence: 99%

Sponges as important sources of nitrate on an oligotrophic continental shelf

Keesing

Strzelecki

Fromont

et al. 2013

Limnology & Oceanography

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In situ field measurements of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) release by sponges in southwestern Australia revealed nitrate release rates of 0.022 to 0.743 mmol g dry weight 21 (dry wt) h 21 and ammonium release rates of between 0.002 and 1.366 mmol g dry wt 21 h 21 . The highest and most consistent rates of nitrate release were among the Thorectidae (0.324 to 0.725 mmol g dry wt 21 h 21 ), while mycalid and verongid sponges were highly variable (0.024 to 0.743 mmol g dry wt 21 h 21 ). The ratio of nitrate to ammonium in released nitrogen ranged from 0.1 to 197.0, indicating a wide range of nitrogen release modes by sponges, from predominantly ammonium to very efficient nitrate producers. The study more than doubles the number of temperate sponge species recorded to release nitrate. Nutrient concentrations near the seabed sponge assemblages were higher at low wind speed (a proxy for turbulent mixing). These observations and our measurements of nitrogen release rates from sponges are consistent with the hypothesis that primary production in the region depends on wave-induced mixing at the seabed for resupply of remineralized nitrogen to a nutrient-impoverished water column and that sponges make an important contribution to these fluxes. Based on known biomass of sponges in southwestern Australia, we calculate that sponges may contribute DIN of 1.8 to 3.2 g N m 2 yr 21 . Taking into account the distribution of sponge habitat across the continental shelf to 100 m depth, this constitutes a contribution of 10% to 18% of the total recycled nitrogen flux required from the benthos to balance a regional nitrogen budget.

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The ultimate opportunists: consumers of seston

Cited by 78 publications

References 19 publications

Unexpected long-term population dynamics in a canopy-forming gorgonian coral following mass mortality

Unexpected long-term population dynamics in a canopy-forming gorgonian coral following mass mortality

Protein, carbohydrate, lipid concentrations and HSP 70–HSP 90 (stress protein) expression over an annual cycle: useful tools to detect feeding constraints in a benthic suspension feeder

Sponges as important sources of nitrate on an oligotrophic continental shelf

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