Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-19T03:14:44.767Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Under the radar: Sessile epifaunal invertebrates in the seagrass Posidonia australis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2015

Marie-Claire A. Demers ,
Nathan A. Knott  and
Andrew R. Davis
Marie-Claire A. Demers*
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
Nathan A. Knott
Affiliation:
NSW Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries NSW, PO Box 89, Huskisson, NSW 2540, Australia
Andrew R. Davis
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to:M.-C.A. Demers, Institute for Conservation Biology and Environmental Management, Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Northfield Ave. WollongongAustralia2522 email: mdemers@uow.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Despite the current global decline in seagrass, sessile epifaunal invertebrates inhabiting seagrass ecosystems, particularly sponges and ascidians, have been poorly studied due to their taxonomic complexity. Understanding patterns of distribution of sessile epifaunal communities in seagrass meadows is an important precursor to determining the processes driving their distribution and species interactions. This study (1) identified the sponge and ascidian assemblage associated with Posidonia australis meadows and (2) determined distributional patterns of these invertebrates at a hierarchy of spatial scales in Jervis Bay, Australia. We used a fully nested design with transects distributed in the seagrass (10s m apart), two sites (100s m apart), and six locations (km apart). Within these transects, we recorded the abundance, volume, diversity and substratum used for attachment by sponges and ascidians. We encountered 20 sponge species and eight ascidian species; they were sporadically distributed in the seagrass meadows with high variability among the transects, sites and locations. A few sponge and ascidian species dominated the assemblage and were widespread across the largest spatial scale sampled. The remaining species were mostly rare and sparsely distributed. Sponges attached to a variety of substrata but most notably shells, P. australis and polychaete tubes. No obligate seagrass species were recorded although three species predominantly used P. australis as a substratum. These sponge species relying heavily on seagrass for their attachment are likely prone to disturbances impacting their host habitat. Examining the response of sessile epifauna to the degradation of their seagrass habitat remains a key challenge for the future.

Keywords

Sessile epifaunal invertebratesPosidonia australisseagrassspongesascidiansspatial distributionsubstratum used for attachment
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 96 , Issue 2: Proceedings of the 9th World Sponge Conference held in Fremantle Australia in 2013: New Frontiers in Sponge Science , March 2016 , pp. 363 - 377
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anderson, M.J. (2001) A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance. Austral Ecology 26, 32–46.Google Scholar
Anderson, T., Brooke, B., Radke, L., McArthur, M. and Hughes, M. (2009) Mapping and characterising soft-sediment habitats and evaluating physical variables as surrogates of biodiversity in Jervis Bay, NSW. Geoscience Australia Record 2009/10. Canberra: Geoscience Australia.Google Scholar
Andrew, N.L. and Mapstone, B.D. (1987) Sampling and the description of spatial pattern in marine ecology. Oceanography and Marine Biology 25, 39–90.Google Scholar
Bannister, R.J., Battershill, C.N. and De Nys, R. (2010) Demographic variability and long-term change in a coral reef sponge along a cross-shelf gradient of the Great Barrier Reef. Marine and Freshwater Research 61, 389–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, P.B., Davis, A.R. and Roberts, D.E. (2006) Sampling patchily distributed taxa: a case study using cost-benefit analyses for sponges and ascidians in coastal lakes of New South Wales, Australia. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 319, 55–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, P.B., Roberts, D.E. and Davis, A.R. (2013) Biodiversity in saline coastal lagoons: patterns of distribution and human impacts on sponge and ascidian assemblages. Diversity and Distributions 19, 1394–1406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barthel, D. and Gutt, J. (1992) Sponge associations in the eastern Weddell Sea. Antarctic Science 4, 137–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, M.W., Heck, K.L., Able, K.W., Childers, D.L., Eggleston, D.B., Gillanders, B.M., Halpern, B., Hays, C.G., Hoshino, K., Minello, T.J., Orth, R.J., Sheridan, P.F. and Weinstein, M.R. (2001) The identification, conservation, and management of estuarine and marine nurseries for fish and invertebrates. Bioscience 51, 633–641.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergquist, P.R. (1978) Sponges. London: Hutchinson & Co.Google Scholar
Boström, C., Jackson, E.L. and Simenstad, C.A. (2006) Seagrass landscapes and their effects on associated fauna: a review. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 68, 383–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, S.M. and Kirkman, H. (1989) Seagrass dynamics. In Larkum, A.W.D., McComb, A.J. and Shepherd, S.A. (eds) Biology of seagrasses – a treatise on the biology of seagrass with special reference to the Australia Region. New York, NY: Elsevier, pp. 304–345.Google Scholar
Corriero, G., Balduzzi, A. and Sara, M. (1989) Ecological differences in the distribution of 2 Tethya (Porifera, Demospongiae) species coexisting in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon. Marine Ecology – Pubblicazioni Della Stazione Zoologica Di Napoli I 10, 303–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, A.R. and Butler, A.J. (1989) Direct observations of larval dispersal in the colonial ascidian Podoclavella molluccensis Sluiter: evidence for closed populations. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 127, 189–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, A.R., Roberts, D. and Ayre, D.J. (1999) Conservation of sessile marine invertebrates: you do not know what you have got until it is gone. In Ponder, W. and Lunney, D. (eds) The other 99%: the conservation and biodiversity of invertebrates. Mosman: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, pp. 325–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Goeij, J.M., van Oevelen, D., Vermeij, M.J.A., Osinga, R., Middelburg, J.J., de Goeij, A. and Admiraal, W. (2013) Surviving in a marine desert: the sponge loop retains resources within coral reefs. Science 342, 108–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Demers, M.-C.A., Davis, A.R. and Knott, N.A. (2013) A comparison of the impact of ‘seagrass-friendly’ boat mooring systems on Posidonia australis. Marine Environmental Research 83, 54–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Den Hartog, C. and Kuo, J. (2006) Taxonomy and biogeography of seagrasses. In Larkum, A.W.D., Orth, R.J. and Duarte, C.M. (eds) Seagrasses: biology, ecology and conservation. Amsterdam: Springer, pp. 1–23.Google Scholar
Diaz, M.C. (2005) Common sponges from shallow marine habitats from Bocas del Toro region, Panama. Caribbean Journal of Science 41, 465–475.Google Scholar
Duckworth, A.R., Battershill, C.N. and Schiel, D.R. (2004) Effects of depth and water flow on growth, survival and bioactivity of two temperate sponges cultured in different seasons. Aquaculture 242, 237–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farnsworth, E.J. and Ellison, A.M. (1996) Scale-dependent spatial and temporal variability in biogeography of mangrove root epibiont communities. Ecological Monographs 66, 45–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fromont, J., Vanderklift, M.A. and Kendrick, G.A. (2006) Marine sponges of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia: patterns of species distributions, abundance and diversity. Biodiversity and Conservation 15, 3731–3750.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillanders, B.M. (2006) Seagrasses, fish, and fisheries. In Larkum, A.W.D., Orth, R.J. and Duarte, C.M. (eds) Seagrasses: biology, ecology and conservation. Amsterdam: Springer, pp. 503–536.Google Scholar
Gobert, S., Cambridge, M.L., Velimirov, B., Pergent, G., Lepoint, G., Bouquegneau, J-M., Dauby, P., Pergent-Martini, C. and Walker, D.I. (2006) Biology of Posidonia. In Larkum, A.W.D., Orth, R.J. and Duarte, C.M. (eds) Seagrasses: biology, ecology and conservation. Amsterdam: Springer, pp. 387–408.Google Scholar
Guerra-Castro, E., Young, P., Perez-Vazquez, A., Carteron, S. and Alvizu, A. (2011) Spatial variability and human disturbance of sponge assemblages associated with mangrove roots in the southern Caribbean. Marine and Freshwater Research 62, 491–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Healey, D. and Hovel, K.A. (2004) Seagrass bed patchiness: effects on epifaunal communities in San Diego Bay, USA. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 313, 155–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemminga, M. and Duarte, C.M. (2000) Seagrass ecology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooper, J.N.A. and Kennedy, J.A. (2002) Small-scale patterns of sponge biodiversity (Porifera) on Sunshine Coast reefs, eastern Australia. Invertebrate Systematics 16, 637–653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooper, J.N.A., Kennedy, J.A. and Quinn, R.J. (2002) Biodiversity ‘hotspots’, patterns of richness and endemism, and taxonomic affinities of tropical Australian sponges (Porifera). Biodiversity and Conservation 11, 851–885.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howard, R.K., Edgar, G.J. and Hutchings, P.A. (1989) Faunal assemblages of seagrass beds. In Larkum, A.W.D., McComb, A.J. and Shepherd, S.A. (eds) Biology of seagrasses– a treatise on the biology of seagrass with special reference to the Australia Region. New York: Elsevier, pp. 536–564.Google Scholar
Knott, N.A., Underwood, A.J., Chapman, M.G. and Glasby, T.M. (2004) Epibiota on vertical and on horizontal surfaces on natural reefs and on artificial structures. Journal of the Marine Biology Association of the United Kingdom 84, 1117–1130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkman, H., Fitzpatrick, J. and Hutchings, P.A. (1995) Seagrasses. In Cho, G., Georges, A. and Stoutjesdijk, R. (eds) Jervis Bay – a place of cultural, scientific and educational value. Canberra: Australian Nature Conservation Agency, pp. 137–142.Google Scholar
Kuenen, M.M.C.E. and Debrot, A.O. (1995) A quantitative study of the seagrass and algal meadows of the Spaanse Water, Curaçao, the Netherlands Antilles. Aquatic Botany 51, 291–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lemmens, J., Clapin, G., Lavery, P. and Cary, J. (1996) Filtering capacity of seagrass meadows and other habitats of Cockburn Sound, Western Australia. Marine Ecology – Progress Series 143, 187–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGuinness, K.A. (2002) Of rowing boats, ocean liners and tests of the ANOVA homogeneity of variance assumption. Austral Ecology 27, 681–688.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meehan, A.J. and West, J.R. (2000) Recovery times for a damaged Posidonia australis bed in south eastern Australia. Aquatic Botany 67, 161–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meehan, A.J. and West, J.R. (2002) Experimental transplanting of Posidonia australis seagrass in Port Hacking, Australia, to assess the feasibility of restoration. Marine Pollution Bulletin 44, 25–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morris, L. and Keough, M.J. (2003) Variation in the response of intertidal infaunal invertebrates to nutrient additions: field manipulations at two sites within Port Phillip Bay, Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 250, 35–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newton, K.L., Creese, B. and Raftos, D. (2007) Spatial patterns of ascidian assemblages on subtidal rocky reefs in the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park, New South Wales. Marine and Freshwater Research 58, 843–855.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quinn, G.P. and Keough, M.J. (2002) Experimental design and data analysis for biologists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reed, B.J. and Hovel, K.A. (2007) Seagrass habitat disturbance: how loss and fragmentation of eelgrass Zostera marina influences epifaunal abundance and diversity. Marine Ecology Progress Series 326, 133–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, D.E. and Davis, A.R. (1996) Patterns in sponge (Porifera) assemblages on temperate coastal reefs off Sydney, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 47, 897–906.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, D.E., Smith, A., Ajani, P. and Davis, A.R. (1998) Rapid changes in encrusting marine assemblages exposed to anthropogenic point-source pollution: a ‘Beyond BACI’ approach. Marine Ecology – Progress Series 163, 213–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schonberg, C.H.L. and Fromont, J. (2014) Sponge functional growth forms as a mean for classifying sponges without taxonomy. In Radford, B. and Ridgway, T. (eds) The Ningaloo atlas. Available at: http://ningaloo-atlas.org.au/content/sponge-functional-growth-forms-means-classifying-spo (accessed 4 December 2014).Google Scholar
Shenkar, N. and Swalla, B.J. (2011) Global diversity of Ascidiacea. PloS ONE 6, e20657.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shepherd, S.A., McComb, A.J., Bulthuis, D.A., Neverauskas, V., Steffensen, D.A. and West, R. (1989) Decline of seagrasses. In Larkum, A.W.D., McComb, A.J. and Shepherd, S.A. (eds) Biology of seagrasses – a treatise on the biology of seagrass with special reference to the Australia Region. New York: Elsevier, pp. 536–564.Google Scholar
Short, F.T., Polidoro, B., Livingstone, S.R., Carpenter, K.E., Bandeira, S., Bujang, J.S., Calumpong, H.P., Carruthers, T.J.B., Coles, R.G., Dennison, W.C., Erftemeijer, P.L.A., Fortes, M.D., Freeman, A.S., Jagtap, T.G., Kamal, A.H.M., Kendrick, G.A., Kenworthy, W.J., La Nafie, Y.A., Nasution, I.M., Orth, R.J., Prathep, A., Sanciangco, J.C., van Tussenbroek, B., Vergara, S.G., Waycott, M. and Zieman, J.C. (2011) Extinction risk assessment of the world's seagrass species. Biological Conservation 144, 1961–1971.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Short, F.T. and Wyllie-Echeverria, S. (1996) Natural and human-induced disturbance of seagrasses. Environmental Conservation 23, 17–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Underwood, A.J. (1997) Experiments in ecology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Underwood, A.J. and Chapman, M.G. (1996) Scales of spatial patterns of distribution of intertidal invertebrates. Oecologia 107, 212–224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Underwood, A.J., Chapman, M.G. and Connell, S.D. (2000) Observations in ecology: you can't make progress on processes without understanding the patterns. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 250, 97–115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, X.H. and Wang, X.L. (2003) A numerical study of water circulation in a thermally stratified embayment. Journal of Ocean University of Qingdao 2, 24–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waycott, M., Duarte, C.M., Carruthers, T.J.B., Orth, R.J., Dennison, W.C., Olyarnik, S., Calladine, A., Fourqurean, J.W., Heck, K.L., Hughes, A.R., Kendrick, G.A., Kenworthy, W.J., Short, F.T. and Williams, S.L. (2009) Accelerating loss of seagrasses across the globe threatens coastal ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106, 12377–12381.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
West, R.J. (1990) Depth-related structural and morphological variations in an Australian Posidonia seagrass bed. Aquatic Botany 36, 153–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
West, R.J. and Larkum, A.W.D. (1979) Leaf productivity of the seagrass, Posidonia australis, in eastern Australian waters. Aquatic Botany 7, 57–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
West, R.J., Larkum, A.W.D. and King, R.J. (1989) Regional studies – seagrasses of south eastern Australia. In Larkum, A.W.D., McComb, A.J. and Shepherd, S.A. (eds) Biology of seagrasses – a treatise on the biology of seagrass with special reference to the Australia Region. New York: Elsevier, pp. 230–260.Google Scholar
Wilcox, B.A. and Murphy, D.D. (1985) Conservation strategy: the effects of fragmentation on extinction. American Naturalist 125, 879–887.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, C.R. and Evans, E. (1989) Sponge distribution across Davies Reef, Great Barrier Reef, relative to location, depth, and water movement. Coral Reefs 8, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, J.T., Benkendorff, K. and Davis, A.R. (1997) Habitat associated differences in temperate sponge assemblages: the importance of chemical defence. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 213, 199–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wulff, J.L. (2001) Assessing and monitoring coral reef sponges: why and how? Bulletin of Marine Science 69, 831–846.Google Scholar
Wulff, J.L. (2008) Collaboration among sponge species increases sponge diversity and abundance in a seagrass meadow. Marine Ecology – An Evolutionary Perspective 29, 193–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wulff, J.L. (2012) Ecological interactions and the distribution, abundance, and diversity of sponges. Advances in Marine Biology 61, 273–344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed