The association between a deep-sea gastropod Pedicularia sicula (Caenogastropoda: Pediculariidae) and its coral host Errina dabneyi (Hydrozoa: Stylasteridae) in the Azores
<qd> Braga-Henriques, A., Carreiro-Silva, M., Porteiro, F. M., de Matos, V., Sampaio, Í., Ocaña, O., and Ávila, S., P. 2011. The association between a deep-sea gastropod Pedicularia sicula (Caenogastropoda: Pediculariidae) and its coral host Errina dabneyi (Hydrozoa: Stylasteridae) in the Azor...
Published in: | ICES Journal of Marine Science |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Oxford University Press
2011
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/68/2/399 https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsq066 |
Summary: | <qd> Braga-Henriques, A., Carreiro-Silva, M., Porteiro, F. M., de Matos, V., Sampaio, Í., Ocaña, O., and Ávila, S., P. 2011. The association between a deep-sea gastropod Pedicularia sicula (Caenogastropoda: Pediculariidae) and its coral host Errina dabneyi (Hydrozoa: Stylasteridae) in the Azores. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 399–407. </qd>The Azores region harbours the richest communities of stylasterid corals in the Northeast Atlantic area. Of the nine deep-water species found there, Errina dabneyi seems to be the most abundant species; it is commonly collected as bycatch from longline fishing. E. dabneyi host Pedicularia gastropods on their branches, and a detailed study of shell shape and morphometry at different growth stages, complemented by shell characterization through scanning electron microscopy, allows the individuals to be identified as Pedicularia sicula . The incidence of this species on E. dabneyi was high (69.8%), with abundances ranging between 1 and 223 individuals per colony. The pediculariids exhibited a high degree of plasticity and produced evident traces on the stylasterid skeletons at their fixation points, suggesting that they are ectoparasites and not predators of E. dabneyi . The stylasterid colonies also hosted a rich associated fauna dominated by suspension-feeders using the coral as substratum and for protection. |
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