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de Pádua SMF, Botter-Carvalho ML, Gomes PB, de Oliveira CS, dos Santos JCP, Pérez CD. The alien octocoral Carijoa riisei is a biogenic substrate multiplier in artificial Brazilian shipwrecks. AQUATIC ECOLOGY 2021; 56:183-200. [PMID: 34642570 PMCID: PMC8497147 DOI: 10.1007/s10452-021-09908-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Despite the obvious negative effects caused by invasive species, some recent studies have shown that the impacts at local scale are diverse and not necessarily negative. Arborescent benthic organisms such as octocorals form three-dimensional structures capable of increasing the amount of substrate available and providing shelter for epibiont species. We investigated the role of the alien octocoral Carijoa riisei on the diversity of benthic communities in three shipwrecks on the north-eastern coast of Brazil. We expected that (a) the fauna associated with the octocoral are richer and more diverse compared to the adjacent; (b) some species are exclusively associated with C. riisei; (c) the species that are present both in the areas with and without C. riisei have a greater abundance when associated with the octocoral. For this, we compared the macrobenthic communities associated with C. riisei to those found in adjacent areas where the octocoral was absent. Our study showed that the communities associated with the octocoral were 1.5 times richer and 10 times more abundant than adjacent communities, with 29 exclusive taxa. The dominant taxa were the amphipods Ericthonius brasiliensis and Podocerus brasiliensis and polychaetes of the family Syllidae. These taxa were present in areas with presence and absence of C. riisei, but their abundance was significantly greater where the octocoral was present. Our results reinforce the idea that Carijoa riisei acts as an ecosystem engineer in coastal reefs, creating new habitats and increasing diversity at a local scale, even though it is an alien species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stella Maris Feitosa de Pádua
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade-PPGBio, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brazil
- Grupo de Pesquisa em Antozoários (GPA), Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brazil
- Grupo de Pesquisa em Antozoários (GPA), Centro Acadêmico da Vitória, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco Brazil
| | - Mônica Lúcia Botter-Carvalho
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade-PPGBio, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brazil
- Laboratório de Ecologia do Bentos Costeiro (LEBENC), Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brazil
| | - Paula Braga Gomes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade-PPGBio, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brazil
- Grupo de Pesquisa em Antozoários (GPA), Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal (PPGBA), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brazil
| | - Camilla Silva de Oliveira
- Grupo de Pesquisa em Antozoários (GPA), Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal (PPGBA), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brazil
| | - José Carlos Pacheco dos Santos
- Laboratório de Operações Aquáticas e Aquicultura (LOAA), Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brasil
| | - Carlos Daniel Pérez
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade-PPGBio, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal (PPGBA), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco Brazil
- Grupo de Pesquisa em Antozoários (GPA), Centro Acadêmico da Vitória, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco Brazil
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Gaikwad S, De K, Nanajkar M, Sautya S. Octocoral colonies as spawning ground for the cuttlefish Sepiella inermis (Cephalopoda: Sepiidae). Symbiosis 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s13199-021-00796-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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