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14 pages, 3195 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seasonal Variations in Invertebrates Sheltered among Corallina officinalis (Plantae, Rodophyta) Turfs along the Southern Istrian Coast (Croatia, Adriatic Sea)

by Moira Buršić, Andrej Jaklin, Milvana Arko Pijevac, Branka Bruvo Mađarić, Lucija Neal, Emina Pustijanac, Petra Burić, Neven Iveša, Paolo Paliaga and Ljiljana Iveša

Diversity 2023, 15(10), 1099; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15101099 - 22 Oct 2023

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Abstract

Available research on invertebrates in Corallina officinalis settlements shows a high level of biodiversity due to a complex habitat structure. Our aim was to examine seasonal changes in the invertebrate population, considering the algae’s growth patterns. Nine locations with over 90% algal coverage [...] Read more.

Available research on invertebrates in Corallina officinalis settlements shows a high level of biodiversity due to a complex habitat structure. Our aim was to examine seasonal changes in the invertebrate population, considering the algae’s growth patterns. Nine locations with over 90% algal coverage were selected in southern Istria, where quantitative sampling was performed using six replicates of 5 × 5 cm quadrats in each location. Results showed that 29,711 invertebrates were found during winter (maximum algae growth) and 22,292 during summer (minimum algae growth), with an extrapolated average density of 220,000 and 165,200 individuals per square meter, respectively. The total number of individuals showed a linear increase as the algae biomass increased. The highest density, 586,000 individuals, was recorded in the Premantura area during winter. Dominant groups such as amphipods, polychaetes, bivalves and gastropods made up over 80% of the invertebrates. Our study confirms high invertebrate richness in the C. officinalis settlements, with the maximum density being the highest when compared to previously published data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biogeography of Marine Benthos)

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23 pages, 7246 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Diversity and Distribution of the Benthic Foraminifera on the Brunei Shelf (Northwest Borneo): Effect of Seawater Depth

by Sulia Goeting, Huan Chiao Lee, László Kocsis, Claudia Baumgartner-Mora and David J. Marshall

Diversity 2023, 15(8), 937; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15080937 - 18 Aug 2023

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Abstract

The marine benthic diversity of the Palawan/North Borneo ecoregion is poorly known, despite its implied unique high species richness within the Coral Triangle. The present study investigated the diversity and distribution of benthic foraminifera on the Brunei shelf. The objectives were to determine [...] Read more.

The marine benthic diversity of the Palawan/North Borneo ecoregion is poorly known, despite its implied unique high species richness within the Coral Triangle. The present study investigated the diversity and distribution of benthic foraminifera on the Brunei shelf. The objectives were to determine the species composition of sediment samples collected from 11 sites, extending ~70 km from the Brunei coastline and along a depth gradient of 10–200 m. We retrieved a total of 99 species, belonging to 31 families and 56 genera, out of which 52 species represented new records for Brunei and probably the ecoregion. Using presence/absence data, analyses were also performed to compare species diversity patterns (species richness, occupancy, taxonomic distinctness) and species assemblage similarity across the sites. For further insight into the relationship between distribution and depth-associated environmental conditions, we undertook stable isotope analyses of selected species of Rotaliida, Miliolida, and Lagenida. Oxygen isotope values were positively correlated with depth and species distribution, confirming cooler temperatures at greater depth. The carbon isotope data revealed species differences relating to habitat and food source specificity and a biomineralization effect. Close to one-third of the species were recorded from single sites, and species richness and taxonomic distinctness increased with depth and were greatest at the second deepest site (144 m). Together, these findings suggest data underrepresentation of diversity, habitat disturbance in shallower water, and species specialization (adaptation) in deeper water. Importantly, assemblage similarity suggests the occurrence of at least three marine biotopes on the Brunei shelf (10–40 m, 40–150 m, and >150 m). This study contributes significantly to our understanding of the local and regional patterns of foraminiferal diversity and distribution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biogeography of Marine Benthos)

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20 pages, 5188 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Echinoids and Crinoids from Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) Based on a Reverse Taxonomy Approach

by Alice Guzzi, Maria Chiara Alvaro, Matteo Cecchetto and Stefano Schiaparelli

Diversity 2023, 15(7), 875; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15070875 - 21 Jul 2023

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Abstract

The identification of species present in an ecosystem and the assessment of a faunistic inventory is the first step in any ecological survey and conservation effort. Thanks to technological progress, DNA barcoding has sped up species identification and is a great support to [...] Read more.

The identification of species present in an ecosystem and the assessment of a faunistic inventory is the first step in any ecological survey and conservation effort. Thanks to technological progress, DNA barcoding has sped up species identification and is a great support to morphological taxonomy. In this work, we used a “Reverse Taxonomy” approach, where molecular (DNA barcoding) analyses were followed by morphological (skeletal features) ones to determine the specific status of 70 echinoid and 22 crinoid specimens, collected during eight different expeditions in the Ross and Weddell Seas. Of a total of 13 species of sea urchins, 6 were from the Terra Nova Bay area (TNB, Ross Sea) and 4 crinoids were identified. Previous scientific literature reported only four species of sea urchins from TNB to which we added the first records of Abatus cordatus (Verrill, 1876), Abatus curvidens Mortensen, 1936 and Abatus ingens Koehler, 1926. Moreover, we found a previous misidentification of Abatus koehleri (Thiéry, 1909), erroneously reported as A. elongatus in a scientific publication for the area. All the crinoid records are new for the area as there was no previous faunistic inventory available for TNB. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biogeography of Marine Benthos)

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18 pages, 3860 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Feeding and Reproductive Phenotypic Traits of the Sea Urchin Tripneustes gratilla in Seagrass Beds Impacted by Eutrophication

by Helen Grace P. Bangi and Marie Antonette Juinio-Meñez

Diversity 2023, 15(7), 843; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15070843 - 11 Jul 2023

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Abstract

The sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla is a major grazer and is, hence, an excellent key model organism to study to gain a better understanding of responses to changes in its habitat. We investigated whether there are significant variations in the feeding and reproductive [...] Read more.

The sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla is a major grazer and is, hence, an excellent key model organism to study to gain a better understanding of responses to changes in its habitat. We investigated whether there are significant variations in the feeding and reproductive phenotypic traits of populations from three seagrass bed sites, with respect to their proximity to fish farms in Bolinao, northwestern Philippines. We established three stations in each of the three sites: the far, the intermediate, and those near the fish farms, and compared the sea urchins’ phenotypic traits and determined whether these were related to seagrass productivity and water parameters. Regardless of the sampling period, adult sea urchins (66.92 ± 0.27 mm test diameter, TD, n = 157) from the areas intermediate and near to the fish farms had significantly lower indices of Aristotle’s lantern, gut contents, gut and gonads, and lower gonad quality (high percentage of unusual black gonads), compared to those from the far stations. Multivariate analysis showed that the smaller feeding structures and gut, lower consumption rates and lower gonad indices and quality of sea urchins in the intermediate and near fish farms were positively related to lower shoot density, leaf production and species diversity, as well as lower water movement in those stations. The larger size of the Aristotle’s lantern in the far stations was not related to food limitations. More importantly, the phenotypic variability in the feeding structures and gonads of sea urchins in the same seagrass bed provides new evidence regarding the sensitivity of this species to environmental factors that may affect variability in food quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biogeography of Marine Benthos)

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15 pages, 2416 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Colonization in Artificial Seaweed Substrates: Two Locations, One Year

by Diego Carreira-Flores, Regina Neto, Hugo R. S. Ferreira, Edna Cabecinha, Guillermo Díaz-Agras, Marcos Rubal and Pedro T. Gomes

Diversity 2023, 15(6), 733; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15060733 - 02 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1175

Abstract

Artificial substrates have been implemented to overcome the problems associated with quantitative sampling of marine epifaunal assemblages. These substrates provide artificial habitats that mimic natural habitat features, thereby standardizing the sampling effort and enabling direct comparisons among different sites and studies. This paper [...] Read more.

Artificial substrates have been implemented to overcome the problems associated with quantitative sampling of marine epifaunal assemblages. These substrates provide artificial habitats that mimic natural habitat features, thereby standardizing the sampling effort and enabling direct comparisons among different sites and studies. This paper explores the potential of the “Artificial Seaweed Monitoring System” (ASMS) sampling methodology to evaluate the natural variability of assemblages along a coastline of more than 200 km, by describing the succession of the ASMS’ associated macrofauna at two Rías of the Galician Coast (NW Iberian Peninsula) after 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after deployment. The results show that macrofauna assemblages harbored by ASMS differ between locations for every type of data. The results also support the hypothesis that succession in benthic communities is not a linear process, but rather a mixture of different successional stages. The use of the ASMS is proved to be a successful standard monitoring methodology, as it is sensitive to scale-dependent patterns and captures the temporal variability of macrobenthic assemblages. Hence, the ASMS can serve as a replicable approach contributing to the “Good Environmental Status” assessment through non-destructive monitoring programs based on benthic marine macrofauna monitoring, capturing the variability in representative assemblages as long as sampling deployment periods are standard. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biogeography of Marine Benthos)

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11 pages, 5815 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

A New Record of Pinctada fucata (Bivalvia: Pterioida: Pteriidae) in Mischief Reef: A Potential Invasive Species in the Nansha Islands, China

by Binbin Shan, Zhenghua Deng, Shengwei Ma, Dianrong Sun, Yan Liu, Changping Yang, Qiaer Wu and Gang Yu

Diversity 2023, 15(4), 578; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15040578 - 20 Apr 2023

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Abstract

Mischief Reef is located in the eastern Nansha Islands of the South China Sea. With increasingly intense anthropogenic disturbance, Pinctada fucata, a previously unrecorded species in the reef, has occurred in the region. In this study, we identified and described the occurrence [...] Read more.

Mischief Reef is located in the eastern Nansha Islands of the South China Sea. With increasingly intense anthropogenic disturbance, Pinctada fucata, a previously unrecorded species in the reef, has occurred in the region. In this study, we identified and described the occurrence of P. fucata in Mischief Reef based on morphology and molecular markers. Furthermore, we performed a population genetics analysis of seven P. fucata populations of the South China Sea. All P. fucata populations showed significant high-level genetic diversity, but the differentiation among P. fucata populations was small. There was an F_ST value close to zero (−0.0083) between the Lingshui and Mischief Reef populations. Our results hint that Lingshui may be one of the potential sources of P. fucata to Mischief. In addition, we discussed the possible cause of the mass occurrence of P. fucata. The present study serves as a warning that anthropogenic disturbances have disrupted the local ecosystem in Mischief Reef. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biogeography of Marine Benthos)

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21 pages, 2681 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Organic Enrichment on Bioturbation Attributes: How Does the Macrofauna Community Respond in Two Different Sedimentary Impacted Areas?

by Seyed Ehsan Vesal, Federica Nasi, Rocco Auriemma and Paola Del Negro

Diversity 2023, 15(3), 449; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15030449 - 17 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1359

Abstract

We assessed the influence of different organic matter (OM) inputs associated with terrigenous/freshwater allochthonous and sewage derive on bioturbation and irrigation potential community indices (BP_c and IP_c) of the soft-bottom macrofauna community. The macrofauna was sampled from two different sedimentary [...] Read more.

We assessed the influence of different organic matter (OM) inputs associated with terrigenous/freshwater allochthonous and sewage derive on bioturbation and irrigation potential community indices (BP_c and IP_c) of the soft-bottom macrofauna community. The macrofauna was sampled from two different sedimentary impacted areas, in front of the Po River Delta (northern Adriatic Sea) and sewage discharge diffusion zone (Gulf of Trieste). The highest values of BP_c and IP_c were observed at the northward sampling stations of the prodelta and the stations 25 m distance in front of the main sewage outfall. Species richness showed high values in the prodelta likely due to the OM positive effect from the delta, and it increased with increasing distance from the pipeline due to the effect of OM from the sewage discharge. The bioturbation indices differed due to the presence of surface deposit feeders and the injection depth (from 2 to 5 cm) with limited movement at the station located northwards in the prodelta and 25 m distance in the diffusion zone. We infer that the difference in bioturbation indices was likely due to the effects of grain-size composition and the degree of organic enrichment in both study areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biogeography of Marine Benthos)

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14 pages, 8323 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Soft-Bottom Infaunal Macrobenthos of the Avilés Canyon System (Cantabrian Sea)

by Antía Lourido, Santiago Parra and Francisco Sánchez

Diversity 2023, 15(1), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15010053 - 02 Jan 2023

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Abstract

The Aviles Canyon System (Northern Atlantic coast of Spain) is one of the ten marine regions studied in the Spanish seas by the LIFE+ INDEMARES project, which aims to identify special areas of conservation within the Natura 2000 Network. This study aims to [...] Read more.

The Aviles Canyon System (Northern Atlantic coast of Spain) is one of the ten marine regions studied in the Spanish seas by the LIFE+ INDEMARES project, which aims to identify special areas of conservation within the Natura 2000 Network. This study aims to characterize the composition and distribution of the macrobenthic fauna in order to provide baseline data to obtain a basic knowledge of the environment. Three oceanographic surveys were carried out to investigate species and habitats of this deep-sea ecosystem. The stations were sampled using a box corer, in order to evaluate the distribution and biodiversity of the macroinfauna, and to analyse the granulometric composition and the organic matter content. Sediments were mainly sandy in nature, the finest sediments with the highest organic matter content were found in the deepest areas, while coarser sediments were located in shallow stations. Polychaetes were the best represented group in total number of species and individuals, followed by crustaceans and molluscs. Five major macrobenthic assemblages were determined through multivariate analyses. Bathymetry and sedimentary composition were the main factors structuring the benthic community separating shallow and coarser stations from deeper and finer ones. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biogeography of Marine Benthos)

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Other

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10 pages, 3752 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

New Data on Exotic Muricid Species (Neogastropoda: Muricidae) from Spain Based on Integrative Taxonomy

by Rafael Bañón, Juan Fariña and Alejandro de Carlos

Diversity 2023, 15(12), 1185; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15121185 - 29 Nov 2023

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Abstract

The occurrence of Ocinebrellus inornatus and Rapana venosa, two exotic marine gastropods of the family Muricidae originating from the northwest Pacific, is reported in Spanish waters, specifically in the Galician waters (NW Spain) in 2023. Live specimens of O. inornatus were found [...] Read more.

The occurrence of Ocinebrellus inornatus and Rapana venosa, two exotic marine gastropods of the family Muricidae originating from the northwest Pacific, is reported in Spanish waters, specifically in the Galician waters (NW Spain) in 2023. Live specimens of O. inornatus were found on Illa de Arousa, in the Ría de Arousa, southern Galicia, where they are already established. Two new specimens of R. venosa are recorded in Galicia, one of them for the first time out of the Ría de Arousa, representing a range expansion for the species. The DNA barcoding analysis confirms the previous morphological identifications. It is suspected that both species may have been introduced through importation of clam spat and middle-sized oysters from countries such as France, the United Kingdom or Italy for subsequent culture, as has been the case with other exotic species that can currently be found in Galician waters. The continuous arrival of marine exotic species strongly supports the need to establish a monitoring program in Galician waters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Biogeography of Marine Benthos)

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