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Animals
Special Issues
Species Interactions in Marine Benthic Communities
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Species Interactions in Marine Benthic Communities

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Aquatic Animals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 7918

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Miriam Reverter

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Sea, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Interests: marine biology; marine ecology; coral reefs; aquaculture; chemical ecology; metabolomics; holobiont; benthic animals
Dr. Sven Rohde

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl-von-Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Schleusenstrasse 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Interests: marine ecology; chemical ecology; invasive species; symbiotic interactions; macroalgae; coral reefs
Dr. Stephanie Helber

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ecology, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Bremen, Germany
Interests: marine biology; coral reef ecology; benthic interactions; seagrass physiology; chemical ecology; anthropogenic pressures on marine ecosystems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine benthic communities harbor a high diversity of mobile and sessile animals with multiple ecological and functional roles that are in continuous interaction. Despite the crucial role of biotic interacions in driving the structure of the communities, ecosystem functioning and food web dynamics, they are often not well understood. As anthropogenic stressors in the marine environment increase (ocean warming, acidification, eutrophication, and biological invasions) these will likely affect species interactions, highlighting the need of a better understanding of biotic interactions to guide habitat conservation and potential restoration. This special issue aims to gather research (original research, reviews, technical advances or opinions) that studies marine benthic communities (tropical, temperate, deep-water ecosystems) with a focus on animals (e.g. cnidarians, sponges, ascidians, echinoderms, molluscs, etc.) and their interspecific interactions (animal-animal or animal-microorganisms). Research of interest includes but is not limited to chemical ecology studies, experimental studies on species interactions and studies on community and population dynamics. Studies on life history traits in poorly studied animal groups are also especially welcome.

Dr. Miriam Reverter
Dr. Sven Rohde
Dr. Stephanie Helber
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • benthic communities
  • biotic interactions
  • benthic animals
  • symbiotic relationships
  • community dynamics
  • inter-specific interactions
  • chemical ecology

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 856 KiB  
Article
Light Availability Affects the Symbiosis of Sponge Specific Cyanobacteria and the Common Blue Aquarium Sponge (Lendenfeldia chondrodes)
by Franziska Curdt, Peter J. Schupp and Sven Rohde
Animals 2022, 12(10), 1283; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12101283 - 17 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1720
Abstract
Bacterial symbionts in marine sponges play a decisive role in the biological and ecological functioning of their hosts. Although this topic has been the focus of numerous studies, data from experiments under controlled conditions are rare. To analyze the ongoing metabolic processes, we [...] Read more.
Bacterial symbionts in marine sponges play a decisive role in the biological and ecological functioning of their hosts. Although this topic has been the focus of numerous studies, data from experiments under controlled conditions are rare. To analyze the ongoing metabolic processes, we investigated the symbiosis of the sponge specific cyanobacterium Synechococcus spongiarum and its sponge host Lendenfeldia chondrodes under varying light conditions in a defined aquarium setting for 68 days. Sponge clonal pieces were kept at four different light intensities, ranging from no light to higher intensities that were assumed to trigger light stress. Growth as a measure of host performance and photosynthetic yield as a proxy of symbiont photosynthetic activity were measured throughout the experiment. The lack of light prevented sponge growth and induced the expulsion of all cyanobacteria and related pigments by the end of the experiment. Higher light conditions allowed rapid sponge growth and high cyanobacteria densities. In addition, photosynthetically active radiation above a certain level triggered an increase in cyanobacteria’s lutein levels, a UV absorbing protein, thus protecting itself and the host’s cells from UV radiation damage. Thus, L. chondrodes seems to benefit strongly from hosting the cyanbacterium S. spongiarum and the relationship should be considered obligatory mutualistic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Species Interactions in Marine Benthic Communities)
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19 pages, 1969 KiB  
Article
Adaptive Vertical Positioning as Anti-Predator Behavior: The Case of a Prey Fish Cohabiting with Multiple Predatory Fish within Temperate Marine Algal Forests
by Pierre D. Thiriet, Antonio Di Franco, Adrien Cheminée, Luisa Mangialajo, Paolo Guidetti, Samuel Branthomme and Patrice Francour
Animals 2022, 12(7), 826; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12070826 - 24 Mar 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2319
Abstract
Prey fish cohabit with specialized predator fish within structurally complex habitats. How the vertical stratification of the habitat affects lethal and behavioral predator–prey interactions and contributes to explaining these patterns has never been investigated within a forest-like marine habitat, i.e., a habitat containing [...] Read more.
Prey fish cohabit with specialized predator fish within structurally complex habitats. How the vertical stratification of the habitat affects lethal and behavioral predator–prey interactions and contributes to explaining these patterns has never been investigated within a forest-like marine habitat, i.e., a habitat containing three vertical strata (understory, canopy, open-water above). We studied this in tank experiments, with a model prey (the wrasse Symphodus ocellatus) and two model predators (the stalk-and-attack comber Serranus cabrilla and the sit-and-wait scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus), which are among the most abundant prey and predators cohabiting in Mediterranean Cystoseira forests. Wrasse anti-predator behavior was predator-specific. When exposed to the scorpionfish, the wrasse increased its vertical distance from the predator, regardless of the habitat structure. Conversely, when exposed to the comber, the wrasse sought refuge within forest structures: (1) the canopy provides more hiding opportunities due to its high complexity, and (2) the understory provides more escape/avoidance opportunities due to (a) its low complexity that allows for fast prey movements, and (b) the presence of the canopy above that limits the comber’s access to the understory. Our results suggest that habitat vertical stratification mediates predator–prey interactions and potentially promotes the co-existence of prey and multiple predators within marine forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Species Interactions in Marine Benthic Communities)
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10 pages, 1555 KiB  
Communication
New Echinoderm-Crab Epibiotic Associations from the Coastal Barents Sea
by Alexander G. Dvoretsky and Vladimir G. Dvoretsky
Animals 2021, 11(3), 917; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030917 - 23 Mar 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2559
Abstract
During diving surveys for a Russian research project that monitored introduced species, red king crabs (Paralithodes camtschaticus) were collected at a coastal site of the Barents Sea to study the structure and dynamics of this species. Sampling of the organisms colonizing [...] Read more.
During diving surveys for a Russian research project that monitored introduced species, red king crabs (Paralithodes camtschaticus) were collected at a coastal site of the Barents Sea to study the structure and dynamics of this species. Sampling of the organisms colonizing the crabs was part of this research project. For the first time, the presence of relatively large specimens of the common starfish Asterias rubens as epibionts of P. camtschaticus was observed in July 2010, 2018, and 2019. In 2010 and 2019, we also found three other echinoderm species (the Atlantic sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa, the green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, and the brittle star Ophiura sarsii). These findings add to the current list of associated species on king crabs not only in the Barents Sea but also in native areas of this host. Red king crabs have been documented as predators for these echinoderm species, and our records show additional possible interactions between king crabs and echinoderms in this region. More likely, the epibiotic lifestyle allows these echinoderms to avoid predation from red king crabs. There are no potential disadvantages derived by red king crabs through their relationships with the echinoderm epibionts due to low occurrences of these associations. We suggest no negative effects for the local red king crab population and populations of other commercial species in the Barents Sea. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Species Interactions in Marine Benthic Communities)
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