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Ectosymbiosis is a critical factor in the local benthic biodiversity of the Antarctic deep sea

2008; Inter-Research; Volume: 364; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3354/meps07487

1616-1599

Vincent Hétérier, Bruno David, Chantal De Ridder, Thierry Rigaud,

Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 364:67-76 (2008) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07487 Ectosymbiosis is a critical factor in the local benthic biodiversity of the Antarctic deep sea Vincent Hétérier1,2, Bruno David1, Chantal De Ridder2, Thierry Rigaud1,* 1Université de Bourgogne, Laboratoire Biogéosciences, UMR CNRS 5561, 6 bd. Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, France 2Laboratoire de Biologie marine (C.P. 160/15), Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 av. F.D. Roosevelt, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium *Corresponding author. Email: thierry.rigaud@u-bourgogne.fr ABSTRACT: In deep-sea benthic environments, competition for hard substrates is a critical factor in the distribution and diversity of organisms. In this context, the occurrence of biotic substrates in addition to mineral substrates may change the characteristics of sessile fauna. We tested this hypothesis at different localities of the Weddell Sea (Antarctica) by studying the diversity of ectosymbionts living on the spines of cidaroids (echinoids). The presence of cidaroids promoted a higher total specific richness and increased sessile species abundance, but did not change the diversity. Analyses of species distribution suggested that the cidaroids are a favourable habitat for sessile organisms, compared to rocks, but are colonized by relatively specialist sessile species, leaving the unfavourable rock habitat to more generalist species. Therefore, our study highlights the role of some living organisms, such as cidaroids, as key species increasing Antarctic benthic deep-sea species richness through the niche they provide to symbiotic species. KEY WORDS: Symbiosis · Species diversity · Species abundance · Null models · Cidaroids · Weddell Sea Full text in pdf format Supplementary appendix PreviousNextCite this article as: Hétérier V, David B, De Ridder C, Rigaud T, (2008) Ectosymbiosis is a critical factor in the local benthic biodiversity of the Antarctic deep sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 364:67-76. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07487Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 364. Online publication date: July 29, 2008 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2008 Inter-Research.