Cold-Water Soft Corals (Cnidaria: Nephtheidae) as Habitat for Juvenile Basket Stars (Echinodermata: Gorgonocephalidae)
Nephtheidae soft corals are a common component of benthic ecosystems in the Northwest (NW) Atlantic and in the Arctic, but little is known about their functional roles. Here we investigated their role as habitat for basket stars (Ophiuroidea). By examining over 4500 soft coral colonies of Drifa glom...
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2020
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.547896 https://doaj.org/article/ab6fecc0b0794203879ed450f786d69b |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ab6fecc0b0794203879ed450f786d69b 2023-05-15T15:03:35+02:00 Cold-Water Soft Corals (Cnidaria: Nephtheidae) as Habitat for Juvenile Basket Stars (Echinodermata: Gorgonocephalidae) Bárbara de Moura Neves Vonda Wareham Hayes Erin Herder Kevin Hedges Cindy Grant Philippe Archambault 2020-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.547896 https://doaj.org/article/ab6fecc0b0794203879ed450f786d69b EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.547896/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.547896 https://doaj.org/article/ab6fecc0b0794203879ed450f786d69b Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 7 (2020) cold-water corals Nephtheidae functional role habitat basket stars Gorgonocephalus Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.547896 2022-12-31T00:16:28Z Nephtheidae soft corals are a common component of benthic ecosystems in the Northwest (NW) Atlantic and in the Arctic, but little is known about their functional roles. Here we investigated their role as habitat for basket stars (Ophiuroidea). By examining over 4500 soft coral colonies of Drifa glomerata, Duva florida, Gersemia spp., and Pseudodrifa racemosa collected during trawl surveys in the regions of Newfoundland, Labrador and West Baffin Bay, we show that Nephtheidae soft corals are habitat for juvenile Gorgonocephalus sp. basket stars. Juvenile Gorgonocephalus sp. were found on all soft corals species, but Drifa glomerata was the soft coral species with the highest occurrence of associated juvenile basket stars (32%), with a maximum of 111 basket stars found on a single 4.8 cm tall (contracted state) colony. Individual basket star disc diameter did not change with colony height, but it varied with season for individuals found on D. glomerata. On the other hand, colony height was positively related with maximum disc diameter (D. glomerata), and presence and number of basket stars on a colony (D. glomerata and D. florida). One very young ophiuroid was found within one polyp of a D. florida colony collected in July. We also examined bottom trawl survey data from 2011 to 2017 from Newfoundland to Baffin Bay, and other locations in the Eastern Canadian Arctic and found that for our largest database, 45% of trawl sets that contained basket stars also contained corals, of which 67% were Nephtheidae soft corals. In this study we show that all four Nephtheidae soft coral taxa studied act as habitat for juvenile basket stars, which are conspicuous components of benthic communities in cold-water environments. Soft corals are commonly exposed and vulnerable to bottom fishing gear in the North Atlantic. We urge future studies evaluating the nature of this relationship, the potential role of soft corals as nurseries, and the potential degree of dependency/preference between basket stars and soft corals in relation to ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Newfoundland North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Newfoundland Baffin Bay Frontiers in Marine Science 7 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
cold-water corals Nephtheidae functional role habitat basket stars Gorgonocephalus Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
cold-water corals Nephtheidae functional role habitat basket stars Gorgonocephalus Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Bárbara de Moura Neves Vonda Wareham Hayes Erin Herder Kevin Hedges Cindy Grant Philippe Archambault Cold-Water Soft Corals (Cnidaria: Nephtheidae) as Habitat for Juvenile Basket Stars (Echinodermata: Gorgonocephalidae) |
topic_facet |
cold-water corals Nephtheidae functional role habitat basket stars Gorgonocephalus Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
Nephtheidae soft corals are a common component of benthic ecosystems in the Northwest (NW) Atlantic and in the Arctic, but little is known about their functional roles. Here we investigated their role as habitat for basket stars (Ophiuroidea). By examining over 4500 soft coral colonies of Drifa glomerata, Duva florida, Gersemia spp., and Pseudodrifa racemosa collected during trawl surveys in the regions of Newfoundland, Labrador and West Baffin Bay, we show that Nephtheidae soft corals are habitat for juvenile Gorgonocephalus sp. basket stars. Juvenile Gorgonocephalus sp. were found on all soft corals species, but Drifa glomerata was the soft coral species with the highest occurrence of associated juvenile basket stars (32%), with a maximum of 111 basket stars found on a single 4.8 cm tall (contracted state) colony. Individual basket star disc diameter did not change with colony height, but it varied with season for individuals found on D. glomerata. On the other hand, colony height was positively related with maximum disc diameter (D. glomerata), and presence and number of basket stars on a colony (D. glomerata and D. florida). One very young ophiuroid was found within one polyp of a D. florida colony collected in July. We also examined bottom trawl survey data from 2011 to 2017 from Newfoundland to Baffin Bay, and other locations in the Eastern Canadian Arctic and found that for our largest database, 45% of trawl sets that contained basket stars also contained corals, of which 67% were Nephtheidae soft corals. In this study we show that all four Nephtheidae soft coral taxa studied act as habitat for juvenile basket stars, which are conspicuous components of benthic communities in cold-water environments. Soft corals are commonly exposed and vulnerable to bottom fishing gear in the North Atlantic. We urge future studies evaluating the nature of this relationship, the potential role of soft corals as nurseries, and the potential degree of dependency/preference between basket stars and soft corals in relation to ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bárbara de Moura Neves Vonda Wareham Hayes Erin Herder Kevin Hedges Cindy Grant Philippe Archambault |
author_facet |
Bárbara de Moura Neves Vonda Wareham Hayes Erin Herder Kevin Hedges Cindy Grant Philippe Archambault |
author_sort |
Bárbara de Moura Neves |
title |
Cold-Water Soft Corals (Cnidaria: Nephtheidae) as Habitat for Juvenile Basket Stars (Echinodermata: Gorgonocephalidae) |
title_short |
Cold-Water Soft Corals (Cnidaria: Nephtheidae) as Habitat for Juvenile Basket Stars (Echinodermata: Gorgonocephalidae) |
title_full |
Cold-Water Soft Corals (Cnidaria: Nephtheidae) as Habitat for Juvenile Basket Stars (Echinodermata: Gorgonocephalidae) |
title_fullStr |
Cold-Water Soft Corals (Cnidaria: Nephtheidae) as Habitat for Juvenile Basket Stars (Echinodermata: Gorgonocephalidae) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cold-Water Soft Corals (Cnidaria: Nephtheidae) as Habitat for Juvenile Basket Stars (Echinodermata: Gorgonocephalidae) |
title_sort |
cold-water soft corals (cnidaria: nephtheidae) as habitat for juvenile basket stars (echinodermata: gorgonocephalidae) |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.547896 https://doaj.org/article/ab6fecc0b0794203879ed450f786d69b |
geographic |
Arctic Newfoundland Baffin Bay |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Newfoundland Baffin Bay |
genre |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Newfoundland North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Newfoundland North Atlantic |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 7 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.547896/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.547896 https://doaj.org/article/ab6fecc0b0794203879ed450f786d69b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.547896 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
7 |
_version_ |
1766335451100086272 |