Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T20:35:52.206Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Gorgonian mortality related to a massive attack by caprellids in the Bunaken Marine Park (North Sulawesi, Indonesia)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2008

Alice Scinto ,
Giorgio Bavestrello ,
Massimo Boyer ,
Monica Previati  and
Carlo Cerrano
Alice Scinto
Affiliation:
Dipartimento per lo studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse, Università di Genova, C.so Europa 26, 16132 Genova, Italy
Giorgio Bavestrello
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze del Mare, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Massimo Boyer
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze del Mare, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Monica Previati
Affiliation:
Dipartimento per lo studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse, Università di Genova, C.so Europa 26, 16132 Genova, Italy Dipartimento di Scienze del Mare, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Carlo Cerrano*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento per lo studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse, Università di Genova, C.so Europa 26, 16132 Genova, Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Carlo Cerrano Dipartimento per lo studio del Territorio e delle sue RisorseUniversità di Genova, C.so Europa 26 16132 Genova, Italy email: cerrano@dipteris.unige.it
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A massive attack of caprellids is reported here, that is related to a local mortality event of gorgonians in North Sulawesi. Three species of sea fans were affected by the presence of Metaprotella sandalensis, a caprellid widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific. The degree of damage here documented was in relation to the skeletal features of the gorgonian species. The amphipod gut contents were analysed, highlighting an unusual trophic source for caprellids and a new predator for gorgonians. This phenomenon is discussed also evidencing parallels between colonial marine invertebrates and their predators and terrestrial plant–herbivore interactions.

Keywords

gorgonianmortalitycaprellidsattackBunaken Marine ParkIndonesia
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 88 , Issue 4 , August 2008 , pp. 723 - 727
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

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

Bavestrello, G., Cerrano, C., Cattaneo-Vietti, R. and Sarà, M. (1996) Relationships between Eudendrium glomeratum (Cnidaria, Hydromedusae) and its associated vagile fauna. Scientia Marina 60, 159–165.Google Scholar
Berryman, A.A. (1992) The origins and evolution of predator–prey theory. Ecology 73, 1530–1535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boero, F. (1996) Episodic events: their relevance to ecology and evolution. P S Z N I: Marine Ecology 17, 237–250.Google Scholar
Caine, E.A. (1974) Comparative functional morphology of feeding of 3 species of caprellids from the northwestern Florida Gulf coast. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 15, 81–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caine, E.A. (1977) Feeding mechanisms and possible resource partitioning of the Caprellidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from Puget Sound, U.S.A. Marine Biology 42, 331–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cerrano, C., Bavestrello, G., Bianchi, C.N., Cattaneo-Vietti, R., Bava, S., Morganti, C., Morri, C., Picco, P., Sara, G., Schiaparelli, S., Siccardi, A. and Sponga, F. (2000) A catastrophic mass-mortality episode of gorgonians and other organisms in the Ligurian Sea (north-western Mediterranean), summer 1999. Ecology Letters 3, 284–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cerrano, C., Bavestrello, G., Calcinai, B., Cattaneo-Vietti, R. and Sarà, A. (2000) Asteroids eating sponges from Terra Nova Bay, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science 12, 425–426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fabricius, K.E. and McCorry, D. (2006) Changes in octocoral communities and benthic cover along a water quality gradient in the reefs of Hong Kong. Marine Pollution Bulletin 52, 22–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fava, F., Bavestrello, G., Valisano, L. and Cerrano, C. (submitted) Survival, growth and regeneration in explants of four temperate gorgonian species. Marine Biology.Google Scholar
Gerhart, D.J. (1986) Gregariousness in the gorgonian-eating gastropod Cyphoma gibbosum: tests of several possible causes. Marine Ecology Progress Series 31, 255–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garzon-Ferreira, J. and Zea, S. (1992) A mass mortality of Gorgonia ventalina (Cnidaria: Gorgoniidae) in the Santa Marta area, Caribbean coast of Colombia. Bulletin of Marine Science 50, 522–526.Google Scholar
Goh, N.K.C., Loo, M.G.K. and Chou, L.M. (1997) An analysis of Gorgonian (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) zonation on Singapore reefs with respect to depth. Environmental Monitoring Assessment 44, 81–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guerra-García, J. (2003) The Caprellidea (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from Mauritius Island, western Indian Ocean. Zootaxa 232, 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guerra-García, J.M. (2004) The Caprellidea (Crustacea, Amphipoda) from Western Australia and Northern Territory, Australia. Hydrobiologia 522, 1–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guzman, H.M. and Cortes, J. (1984) Mortalidad de Gorgonia flabellum L. (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) en la Costa Caribe de Costa Rica. Revista de Biologia Tropical 32, 305–308.Google Scholar
Harmelin, J.G. (1984) Biologie du corail rouge. Paramètres de populations, croissance et mortalité naturelle. Etat des connaissances en France. FAO Fishery Reports 306, 99–103.Google Scholar
Harvell, C.D. and Suchanek, T.S. (1987) Partial predation on tropical gorgonians by Cyphoma gibbosum (Gastropoda). Marine Ecology Progress Series 38, 37–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harvell, C.D., Kim, K., Burkholder, J.M., Colwell, R.R., Epstein, P.R., Grimes, D.J., Hofmann, E.E., Lipp, E.K., Osterhaus, A.D.M.E., Overstreet, R.M., Porter, J.W., Smith, G.W. and Vasta, G.R. (1999) Emerging marine diseases. Climate links and anthropogenic factors. Science 285, 1505–1510.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harvell, D., Kim, K., Quirolo, C., Weir, J. and Smith, G. (2001) Coral bleaching and disease: contributors to 1998 mass mortality in Briareum asbestinum (Octocorallia, Gorgonacea). Hydrobiologia 460, 97–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harvell, D., Mitchell, C.E., Ward, J.R., Altizer, S., Dobson, A.P., Ostfeld, R.S. and Samuel, M.D. (2002) Climate warming and disease risks for terrestrial and marine biota. Science 296, 2158–2162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kinzie, R.A. (1973) The zonation of West Indian gorgonians. Bulletin of Marine Science 23, 93–155.Google Scholar
Larsen, K. (1997) A new species of Metaprotella from East Africa, with key to the genera. Journal of Natural History 31, 1203–1212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lasker, H.R. (2005) Gorgonian mortality during a thermal event in the Bahamas. Bulletin of Marine Science 76, 155–162.Google Scholar
Laubitz, D. and Mills, E.L. (1972) Deep-sea Amphipoda from the western North Atlantic Ocean. Caprellidea. Canadian Journal of Zoology 50, 371–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laubitz, D.R. and Lewbel, G.S. (1974) A new species of caprellid (Crustacea: Amphipoda) associated with gorgonian octocorals. Canadian Journal of Zoology 52, 549–551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lessios, H.A. (1988) Mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean: what have we learned? Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 19, 371–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morse, D.E., Morse, A.N.C. and Duncan, H. (1977) Algal ‘tumors’ in the Caribbean sea-fan, Gorgonia ventalina. In Proceedings of the Third International Coral Reef Symposium 1, 623–629.Google Scholar
Morse, D.E., Morse, A.N.C., Duncan, H. and Trench, R.K. (1981) Algal tumors in the Caribbean octocorallian, Gorgonia ventalina: II. Biochemical characterization of the algae, and first epidemiological observations. Bulletin of Marine Science 31, 399–409.Google Scholar
Müller, H.G. (1990) New species and records of coral reef inhabiting Caprellidea from Bora Bora and Moorea, Society Islands (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Revue Suisse Zoologie 97, 827–842.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nagelkerken, I., Buchan, K., Smith, G.W., Bonair, K., Bush, P., Garzon-Ferreira, J., Botero, L., Gayle, P., Harvell, C.D., Heberer, C., Kim, K., Petrovic, C., Pors, L. and Yoshioka, P. (1996) Widespread disease in Caribbean sea fans: II. Patterns of infection and tissue loss. Marine Ecology Progress Series 160, 255–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nagelkerken, I., Buchan, K., Smith, G.W., Bonair, K., Bush, P., Garzon-Ferreira, J., Botero, L., Gayle, P., Heberer, C., Petrovic, C., Pors, L. and Yoshioka, P. (1997) Widespread disease in Caribbean sea fans: I. Spreading and general characteristics. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Coral Reef Symposium 1, 679–682.Google Scholar
Perez, T., Garrabou, J., Sartoretto, S., Harmelin, J.G., Francour, P. and Vacelet, J. (2000) Mortalité massive d'invertébrés marins: un événement sans précédent en Méditerranée nord-occidentale—mass mortality of marine invertebrates: an unprecedented event in the NW Mediterranean. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences de Paris III 323, 853–865.Google Scholar
Saunders, C.G. (1965) Dietary analysis of caprellids (Amphipoda). Crustaceana 10, 314–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scinto, A., Benvenuto, C., Cerrano, C. and Mori, M. (2007) Seasonal cycle of Jassa marmorata Holmes, 1903 (Crustacea, Amphipoda) in the Ligurian Sea (Mediterranean Sea, Italy). Journal of Crustacean Biology 27, 212–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, J.D. (1993) Biological monitoring and tropical biodiversity in marine environments: a critique with recommendations, and comments on the use of amphipods as bioindicators. Journal of Natural History 27, 795–806.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whale, C. (1985) Habitat-related patterns of injury and mortality among Jamaican gorgonians. Bulletin of Marine Science 37, 905–927.Google Scholar
Wulff, J. (2006) Ecological interactions of marine sponges. Canadian Journal of Zoology Special Series 84, 146–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yoshioka, P.M. and Buchanan Yoshioka, B. (1989) A multispecies, multiscale analysis of spatial pattern and its application to a shallow-water gorgonian community. Marine Ecology Progress Series 54, 257–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar