Sea spiders (Pycnogonida) from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, feed on fire corals and zoanthids PDF
Preview Sea spiders (Pycnogonida) from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, feed on fire corals and zoanthids
656 MEMOIRS OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM SEASPIDERS(PYCNOGONIDA)FROMTHF.GREAT these hosts, at least at the reefs visited. Observations made BARRIER REEF, AUSTRALIA, FEED ON FIRE undercaptiveconditionsinthelaboratorywiththeaidofalow CORALSANDZOANTHIDS.Memoirsof[theQueensland lightvideocameracorroboratedthesequenceofmovements Museum 46(2): 656. 2001."-Tropical sea spiders have been observed in the field and more importantly, the ingestion of scarcely studied and associations between pyenogonids and cnidarian tissue by the sea spiders. Some pyenogonids are reeforganisms are rarely reported. The possibility of sea known to sequester and accumulate metabolites from prey, spiders feeding on scleractinian corals had been suggested apparentlytobe usedasdefence(Sheerwoodetal., 1998). It once (Child, 1998) but no evidence had been presented for remains to be studied whether this association between eitherfirecoralsorzoanthidsasprey ofseaspidersbefore. Endeisspp.andcnidariansfromtheGreat BarrierReefcould Thisnotereportstheoccurrenceandfeedingactivityofthe be chemically mediated, since Millepora and zoanthids in pyenogonidEndeisonthe firecoral Milleporaexaesa(Class general, are known for their hieh concentration of toxins Hydrozoa)andspeciesofZoanthidea(ClassAnthozoa)from Tl'ossa&Nilsen, 1998). Rib Reef, Pandora Reef and Goold Island in the central Acknowledgments section ofthe Great Barrier Reef. This is the first report on coral reefsea spiders feeding activity, and is based on both Thanks to G. Diaz-Pulido for help with collecting and fieldand laboratory observations. photography. I thank the Australian Institute of Marine Adults ofEndeis mollis (32 individuals) were found on Science (AIMS) for providing access to the Great Barrier different colonies ofMillepora exaesa (Fig. I) at Rib Reef Reefon boardthe RV Harry Messel. {6-9m depth). On several occasions, the sea spiders were LiteratureCited observedfeedingonthecoralinsertingthetipoftheproboscis CHILD, A. 1998. Nymphon torulum, new species and other into a coral polyp and remaining attached for about 60 sec. PycnogonidaassociatedwiththecoralOculinavaricosaonthe Individuals of E. mollis were also observed feeding on eastcoastofFlorida.BulletinofMarineScience63:595-604, Palythoacaesia and crawlingon a Parazoanihus sp. at Rib l-OSSA,S.A.&NILSLN.A.J. 1998.Themoderncoralreefaquarium. Reef. (BirgitSchmettkampVerlag:Bornheim). Related Endeis biseriata, was found in the reef Hat of SHEERWOOD,J.,WALLS,J.T.&RITZ, DA. 1998.Amathamide Goold Island and Pandora Reef(2-4m depth). Twenty-two alkaloidsinthepyenogonid,Styhpalienelongivmtda,epizoic adultsof/:,biseriatawerefoundonProtopalythaasp.Similar onthechemicallydefendedbryozoan,Amathiawilsoni.Papers feeding activity to that ofA', mollis was observed in some andProceedingsoftheRoyalSocietyofTasmania132:65-70, MinidlTilvheiepdouarrlaeslaeotfxi£vae.esbhaiisgeahrnidantuaomfabteEb.rotbhoifssieEtre,is.amtoalloins tohne tzhoeanctohriadl ECcloaluodgiya,P.JaAmraensgoC,ooDkepaUrntimveernstitoyf,ZoToolwongsvyilalned 4T8r1op1i;ca8l November2000. Protopalythoasp.suggestapreferencebytheEndeisspp. for FIG. I. Underwaterphotograph ofEndeismollis(Pycnogonida)on the tire coral Millepora
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