Diversity and abundances of foraminifera in living sponges of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea

Autor(en)
Bianca Lintner, Michael Lintner, Jutta Wollenburg, Erik Wurz, Petra Heinz
Abstrakt

Foraminifera nourishing on fresh organic matter often exhibit an epibiotic or even an epizoic lifestyle. This study investigates the colonization of sponges by foraminifera. For this purpose, 12 siliceous sponges of different genera (Asconema, Geodia, Lissodendoryx and Schaudinnia) and order Haplosclerida were collected in 2018 with a ROV in water depths of 223 to 625 m in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea. Sponges were stained with a Rose Bengal/
ethanol mixture to allow a differentiation between foraminifera that had been recently alive and empty tests. Each sponge sample contained 3–42 dead and 1–10 living foraminiferal individuals per cm3 and summarizing up to 78 different taxa on one single sponge (Geodia phlegraei). Even on Geodia barretti, which is able to release barrettin (an alkaloid) to avoid colonialization by other organisms, living foraminiferal individuals (1 ind./cm3) were observed. The highest foraminiferal densities (living and dead individuals) were recorded on Haplosclerida sp. (49 ind./cm3) and Geodia sp. (45 ind./cm3). The lowest densities of foraminifera were found on G. barretti (3–14 ind./cm3) and on Lissodendoryx complicata (9 ind./cm3). The foraminiferal diversity ranges from 7.04 to 17.38 for Fisher α and from 2.40 to 3.33 (Shannon-Wiener (H)S). The highest diversity was found on G. phlegraei and the lowest one on L. complicata. This study is highlighting the ecosystem engineering role of sponges providing niche habitats for a high number of foraminifera.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Paläontologie
Externe Organisation(en)
Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Wageningen University and Research Centre
Journal
Journal of Sea Research
Band
187
Anzahl der Seiten
8
ISSN
1385-1101
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2022.102245
Publikationsdatum
09-2022
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
106021 Meeresbiologie, 105118 Paläontologie
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Aquatic Science, Oceanography
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 14 – Leben unter Wasser
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/0ab1379f-0b3c-484a-8a7d-ba5f74be2808