Sponge-dwelling fauna: a review of known species from the Northwest Tropical Atlantic coral reefs

Within tropical shallow-water coral reefs, marine sponges provide microhabitats for a wide range of fauna. Although there have been numerous studies and reports of symbiotic relationships amongst sponges and their associated fauna, those pieces of information are isolated and disconnected. For this reason, based on the available literature, we compiled a species-interaction dataset of coral reef marine sponge-associated fauna known to date. We introduce a dataset that includes 67 literature items that report 101 species of sponge hosts clustered in 12 Orders having a host/guest interaction with 284 guest species from six Phyla present in the Northwestern Tropical Atlantic coral reefs. This dataset consists of two types of information: 1. Machine-readable data and 2. Human-readable data. These two types of coding improve the scope of the dataset and facilitate the link between machine platforms and human-friendly displays. We also created an interactive visualisation of the species-interactions dataset and of a dynamic Chord Diagram of the host-guest species connections to generate a user-friendly link between the user and the dataset.

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The Extraordinary Importance of Coral-Associated Fauna

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d12090357 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 357

Author(s):

Simone Montano

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Intimate Relationships ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Associated Fauna ◽

External Disturbances ◽

Term Survival ◽

Symbiotic Relationships ◽

Coral Reef Ecosystems

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse marine ecosystems on Earth and one of the richest in terms of species interactions. Scleractinian corals are usually the most likely to provide numerous different habitats and to support many symbiotic relationships. However, many other invertebrate groups, such as sponges, bryozoans, and other cnidarians, establish strict symbiotic relationships with other marine organisms. Despite the nature of these relationships—as well as the factors that drive their establishment—being unclear in most cases, a few studies have already shown that some associations may increase the resistance of their hosts to external disturbances. Thus, the potential ability of each member of these diverse symbiotic assemblages to influence the fitness and long-term survival of their hosts bring the coral-associated fauna to the top of the list of coral reef studies. Unfortunately, the widespread degradation of coral reef ecosystems may threaten the existence of the intimate relationships that may go unrecognized complicating our understanding of the intricate networks connecting the fates of reef species. Therefore, this unprecedented loss of biodiversity calls for synergic conservation and monitoring actions aimed at significantly increasing our efforts to search for and describe as much of the diversity of coral-associated organisms as possible, shedding new light on the complex, elusive mechanisms controlling coral reef functioning.

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Towards an Essential Biodiversity Variable for Species Interactions

Biodiversity Information Science and Standards ◽

10.3897/biss.2.25409 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. e25409

Author(s):

Quentin Groom ◽

Robert Guralnick ◽

W. Daniel Kissling

Keyword(s):

Species Interactions ◽

Interaction Strength ◽

Species Traits ◽

Species Interaction ◽

Ecological Networks ◽

Microbial Interactions ◽

Ecosystem Structure ◽

State Variables ◽

Flower Visitation ◽

Wide Range

Can Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) be developed to monitor changes in species interactions? That was the difficult question asked at the GLOBIS-B workshop in February, 2017 in which >50 experts participated. EBVs can be defined as harmonized measurements that allow us to inform policy about essential changes in biodiversity. They can be seen as biological state variables from which more refined indicators may be derived. They have been presented as a means to monitor global biodiversity change and as a concept to drive the gathering, sharing, and standardisation of data on our biota (Geijzendorffer et al. 2015, Kissling et al. 2017, Pereira et al. 2013). There are different classes of EBVs that characterize, for example, the state of species populations, species traits and ecosystem structure and function. It has also been proposed that there should be EBVs related to species interactions. However, until now there has been little progress formulating what these should be, even though species interactions are central to ecology. Species interactions cover a wide range of important processes, from mutualisms, such as pollination, to different forms of heterotrophic nutrition, such as the predator-prey relationship. Indeed, ecological interactions are critical to understand why an ecosystem is more than the sum of its parts. Nevertheless, direct observation of species interactions is often difficult and time consuming work, which makes it difficult to monitor them in the long-term. For this reason the workshop focused on those species interactions that are feasible to study and are most relevant to policy. To bring focus to our discussions we concentrated on pollination, predation and microbial interactions. Taking pollination as an example, there was recognition of the importance of ecological networks and that network metrics may be a sensitive indicator of change. Potential EBVs might be the number of pairwise interactions between species or the modularity and interaction diversity of the whole network. This requires standardised data collection and reporting (e.g. standardization of measures of interaction strength or minimum data specifications for ecological networks) and sufficient data across time to regularly calculate these metrics. Other simpler surrogates for pollination might also prove useful, such as flower visitation rates or the proportion of fruit set. Finally, there was a recognition that we do not yet have enough tools to monitor some important interactions. Many interactions, particular among microbes, can currently only be inferred from the co-occurrence of taxa. However, technology is rapidly developing and it is possible to foresee a future where even these interactions can be monitored efficiently. Species interactions are essential to understanding ecology, but they are also difficult to monitor. Yet, delegates at the workshop left with a positive outlook that it is valuable to develop standardisation and harmonization of species interaction data to make them suitable for EBV production.

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Genome Reduction and Secondary Metabolism of the Marine Sponge-Associated Cyanobacterium Leptothoe

Marine Drugs ◽

10.3390/md19060298 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (6) ◽

pp. 298

Author(s):

Despoina Konstantinou ◽

Rafael V. Popin ◽

David P. Fewer ◽

Kaarina Sivonen ◽

Spyros Gkelis

Keyword(s):

Natural Products ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Genomic Analysis ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

Marine Sponges ◽

Genome Reduction ◽

Extracellular Polysaccharides ◽

Comparative Genomic ◽

Symbiotic Relationships ◽

Genes Encoding

Sponges form symbiotic relationships with diverse and abundant microbial communities. Cyanobacteria are among the most important members of the microbial communities that are associated with sponges. Here, we performed a genus-wide comparative genomic analysis of the newly described marine benthic cyanobacterial genus Leptothoe (Synechococcales). We obtained draft genomes from Le. kymatousa TAU-MAC 1615 and Le. spongobia TAU-MAC 1115, isolated from marine sponges. We identified five additional Leptothoe genomes, host-associated or free-living, using a phylogenomic approach, and the comparison of all genomes showed that the sponge-associated strains display features of a symbiotic lifestyle. Le. kymatousa and Le. spongobia have undergone genome reduction; they harbored considerably fewer genes encoding for (i) cofactors, vitamins, prosthetic groups, pigments, proteins, and amino acid biosynthesis; (ii) DNA repair; (iii) antioxidant enzymes; and (iv) biosynthesis of capsular and extracellular polysaccharides. They have also lost several genes related to chemotaxis and motility. Eukaryotic-like proteins, such as ankyrin repeats, playing important roles in sponge-symbiont interactions, were identified in sponge-associated Leptothoe genomes. The sponge-associated Leptothoe stains harbored biosynthetic gene clusters encoding novel natural products despite genome reduction. Comparisons of the biosynthetic capacities of Leptothoe with chemically rich cyanobacteria revealed that Leptothoe is another promising marine cyanobacterium for the biosynthesis of novel natural products.

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The Coevolution of Plants and Microbes Underpins Sustainable Agriculture

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9051036 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 1036

Author(s):

Dongmei Lyu ◽

Levini A. Msimbira ◽

Mahtab Nazari ◽

Mohammed Antar ◽

Antoine Pagé ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Plant Growth ◽

Stress Resistance ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Plant Tissues ◽

Terrestrial Plants ◽

Plant Host ◽

Symbiotic Relationships ◽

Wide Range ◽

Terrestrial Environments

Terrestrial plants evolution occurred in the presence of microbes, the phytomicrobiome. The rhizosphere microbial community is the most abundant and diverse subset of the phytomicrobiome and can include both beneficial and parasitic/pathogenic microbes. Prokaryotes of the phytomicrobiome have evolved relationships with plants that range from non-dependent interactions to dependent endosymbionts. The most extreme endosymbiotic examples are the chloroplasts and mitochondria, which have become organelles and integral parts of the plant, leading to some similarity in DNA sequence between plant tissues and cyanobacteria, the prokaryotic symbiont of ancestral plants. Microbes were associated with the precursors of land plants, green algae, and helped algae transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments. In the terrestrial setting the phytomicrobiome contributes to plant growth and development by (1) establishing symbiotic relationships between plant growth-promoting microbes, including rhizobacteria and mycorrhizal fungi, (2) conferring biotic stress resistance by producing antibiotic compounds, and (3) secreting microbe-to-plant signal compounds, such as phytohormones or their analogues, that regulate aspects of plant physiology, including stress resistance. As plants have evolved, they recruited microbes to assist in the adaptation to available growing environments. Microbes serve themselves by promoting plant growth, which in turn provides microbes with nutrition (root exudates, a source of reduced carbon) and a desirable habitat (the rhizosphere or within plant tissues). The outcome of this coevolution is the diverse and metabolically rich microbial community that now exists in the rhizosphere of terrestrial plants. The holobiont, the unit made up of the phytomicrobiome and the plant host, results from this wide range of coevolved relationships. We are just beginning to appreciate the many ways in which this complex and subtle coevolution acts in agricultural systems.

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Sulfated and Sulfur-Containing Steroids and Their Pharmacological Profile

Marine Drugs ◽

10.3390/md19050240 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (5) ◽

pp. 240

Author(s):

Tatyana A. Pounina ◽

Tatyana A. Gloriozova ◽

Nick Savidov ◽

Valery M. Dembitsky

Keyword(s):

Antitumor Activity ◽

Confidence Level ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Marine Sponges ◽

Bioactive Lipids ◽

Pharmacological Profile ◽

Wide Range ◽

Sulfated Steroids ◽

Strong Antitumor Activity ◽

Sulfur Containing

The review focuses on sulfated steroids that have been isolated from seaweeds, marine sponges, soft corals, ascidians, starfish, and other marine invertebrates. Sulfur-containing steroids and triterpenoids are sourced from sedentary marine coelenterates, plants, marine sediments, crude oil, and other geological deposits. The review presents the pharmacological profile of sulfated steroids, sulfur-containing steroids, and triterpenoids, which is based on data obtained using the PASS program. In addition, several semi-synthetic and synthetic epithio steroids, which represent a rare group of bioactive lipids that have not yet been found in nature, but possess a high level of antitumor activity, were included in this review for the comparative pharmacological characterization of this class of compounds. About 140 steroids and triterpenoids are presented in this review, which demonstrate a wide range of biological activities. Therefore, out of 71 sulfated steroids, thirteen show strong antitumor activity with a confidence level of more than 90%, out of 50 sulfur-containing steroids, only four show strong antitumor activity with a confidence level of more than 93%, and out of eighteen epithio steroids, thirteen steroids show strong antitumor activity with a confidence level of 91% to 97.4%.

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BIODIVERSITI DAN PEMULIHARAAN TERUMBU KARANG DI TIGA BUAH PULAU, MELAKA (Biodiversity and Conservation of Coral Reefs in Three Islands in Malacca)

MALIM: JURNAL PENGAJIAN UMUM ASIA TENGGARA (SEA JOURNAL OF GENERAL STUDIES) ◽

10.17576/malim-2021-2201-14 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 180-197

Author(s):

SYAIMAK ISMAIL ◽

MOHAMAD SAUPI BIN ISMAIL ◽

MUHAMMAD SAIFUL ISLAM ISMAIL ◽

AEMY AZIZ

Keyword(s):

Coral Reefs ◽

Biodiversity Conservation ◽

Soft Coral ◽

Good Condition ◽

Scuba Diving ◽

Field Studies ◽

The State ◽

Hard Coral ◽

Wide Range ◽

State Museum

In the state of Melaka, there are eighteen islands recorded by the Melaka State Museum Corporation (PERZIM). Part of this island serves as a tourist island, and developed islands are also uninhabited islands. However, three islands are recorded to have amazing coral reefs that are still in good condition. The Penang Batu Maung Fisheries Research Institute (AkuaTAR) has conducted a study on the biodiversity of coral reefs around the waters of Pulau Dodol, Pulau Serimbun, and Pulau Undan. AkuaTAR researchers are using scuba diving methods, and at the same time, they did conservation on coral reefs that have been identified in the waters of the Straits of Melaka. The objective of this study is to record the types of community forms such as living corals and identify the species of coral reefs found in three islands in the state of Melaka in Pulau Undan, Pulau Dodol, and Pulau Serimbun. The study also implemented method observation by conducting field studies on the islands involved by doing scuba diving. Results and discussion of the search, these three islands are located in very clean, uninhabited waters. They have a wide range of coral biodiversity using soft coral reefs and hard coral reefs. The study also found that the three islands in the state have the largest coral reefs in the waters of the Straits of Melaka. Keywords: Biodiversity; Conservation; Coral; Three island; Melaka

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Facilitation costs and benefits function simultaneously on stress gradients for animals

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2018.0983 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 285 (1885) ◽

pp. 20180983 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Olivier Dangles ◽

Mario Herrera ◽

Carlos Carpio ◽

Christopher J. Lortie

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Framework ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Stress Gradient ◽

Species Interaction ◽

Positive Interactions ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Strong Basis ◽

Stress Gradients ◽

High Resource

Understanding the variation in species interactions along environmental stress gradients is crucial for making robust ecological predictions about community responses to changing environmental conditions. The facilitation–competition framework has provided a strong basis for predictions (e.g. the stress-gradient hypothesis, SGH), yet the mechanisms behind patterns in animal interactions on stress gradients are poorly explored in particular for mobile animals. Here, we proposed a conceptual framework modelling changes in facilitation costs and benefits along stress gradients and experimentally tested this framework by measuring fitness outcomes of benefactor–beneficiary interactions across resource quality levels. Three arthropod consumer models from a broad array of environmental conditions were used including aquatic detritivores, potato moths and rainforest carrion beetles. We detected a shift to more positive interactions at increasing levels of stress thereby supporting the application of the SGH to mobile animals. While most benefactors paid no significant cost of facilitation, an increase in potato moth beneficiary's growth at high resource stress triggered costs for benefactors. This study is the first to experimentally show that both costs and benefits function simultaneously on stress gradients for animals. The proposed conceptual framework could guide future studies examining species interaction outcomes for both animals and plants in an increasingly stressed world.

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Comparison of cnidae sizes between the two morphotypes of the giant Caribbean sea anemone Condylactis gigantea (Actiniaria: Actiniidae)

Revista de Biología Tropical ◽

10.15517/rbt.v66i3.30705 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 66 (3) ◽

pp. 1055

Author(s):

Ricardo Enrique González Muñoz ◽

Carlos Hernández-Ortiz ◽

Agustin Garese ◽

Nuno Simões ◽

Fabián Horacio Acuña

Keyword(s):

Coral Reefs ◽

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Related Species ◽

Significant Variation ◽

Caribbean Sea ◽

Sea Anemone ◽

Tropical Atlantic ◽

Closely Related Species ◽

Mexican Caribbean ◽

Ecological Differences

The sea anemone Condylactis gigantea is an ecologically important member of the benthic community in coral reefs of the tropical Atlantic, and displays two morphotypes with respect to the color in their tentacular tips: the green tip morphotype and the pink/purple tip morphotype. Although some molecular and ecological differences have been found between these morphotypes, no other morphological distinctions have been reported, and currently both are still considered a single taxonomic species. In the present study, we perform an exploration on the variability in the size of cnidae between these two morphotypes and performed statistical analyses to compare the 10 categories of cnidae from specimens hosted in the Cnidarian Collection of Gulf of Mexico and Mexican Caribbean, of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, which were previously collected in several coral reefs localities of the Yucatán Peninsula. Results reveal no significant variation in cnidae size between the two morphotypes, but significant variations were found within each morphotype. In addition, we update the composition of the cnidom of C. gigantea, and the utility of the size of cnidae to distinguish between morphotypes or closely related species is discussed.

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First record of Calliactis tricolor (Le Sueur, 1817) (Cnidaria, Actiniaria, Hormathiidae) in the Veracruz reef system, southwestern Gulf of Mexico

Check List ◽

10.15560/14.3.617 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 617-629

Author(s):

José Luis Tello-Musi ◽

Ricardo González-Muñoz ◽

Fabián H. Acuña ◽

Nuno Simões

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Benthic Community ◽

First Record ◽

Hermit Crabs ◽

Tropical Atlantic ◽

Sea Anemones ◽

Southwestern Part ◽

Symbiotic Relationships ◽

Reef System

The sea anemone Calliactis tricolor (Le Sueur, 1817) is an ecologically important member of the benthic community in coastal and coral reefs of the tropical Atlantic, particularly for their propensity to establish mutualistic symbiotic relationships with hermit crabs. This species is presumably distributed throughout the Gulf of Mexico; however, it had never been recorded in the southwestern part of the Gulf. Here we document the first record of C. tricolor in 2 coral reef localities of the Veracruz reef system, Mexico, and update the number of species of sea anemones known for the region.

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An update on the diversity of marine sponges in the southern gulf of Mexico coral reefs

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.5031.1.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5031 (1) ◽

pp. 1-112

Author(s):

DIANA UGALDE ◽

JULIO C.C. FERNANDEZ ◽

PATRICIA GÓMEZ ◽

GISELE LÔBO-HAJDU ◽

NUNO SIMÕES

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

New Records ◽

Marine Sponges ◽

Sponge Species ◽

Southern Gulf Of Mexico

Until now, 127 species of marine sponges have been recorded in the southern Gulf of Mexico (SGoM). In this study, we describe the sponge fauna recorded on 16 coral reefs of the SGoM, defined as the Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), during a period from 2005 to 2019. We report 80 sponge species, including 34 first geographic records for the southern GoM region. The latter are fully described and illustrated, taking into account 24 that represent new records for the GoM: Agelas conifera, Agelas sventres, Agelas wiedenmayeri, Prosuberites carriebowensis, Desmanthus meandroides, Cliona aprica, Cliona dioryssa, Placospongia ruetzleri, Haliclona (Gellius) megasclera, Haliclona (Reniera) aff. portroyalensis, Neopetrosia proxima, Xestospongia arenosa, Calyx podatypa, Shiphonodictyon xamaycaense, Acarnus innominatus, Iotrochota arenosa, Polymastia tenax, Svenzea cristinae, Svenzea flava, Svenzea tubulosa, Svenzea zeai, Timea stenosclera, Stellettinopsis megastylifera, Suberea flavolivescens. The present work highlights the understimated and remarkable diversity of reef-associated sponges within the Campeche Bank Coral reef systems. Present work data was compiled with existing published information to produce an updated list of 161 known sponges in the southern GoM.

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