A survey of epibiont hydrozoans on Sargassum

PeerJ

article

Cecilia Odette Carral-Murrieta¹  Antonio C. Marques²  Elisa Serviere-Zaragoza¹  Mariae C. Estrada-González³  Amanda F. Cunha⁴  Marina O. Fernandez²  Alejandra Mazariegos-Villarreal¹  Karla León-Cisneros⁵  Juan López-Vivas⁵  José Agüero³  María A. Mendoza-Becerril⁶ 

[1] Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste;Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo;Medusozoa México;Departamento de Biologia Animal, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Viçosa;Departamento Académico de Ciencias Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur;El Colegio de la Frontera Sur

关键词: Epibionts;    Hydrozoa;    Macroalgae;    Medusozoa;    Polyps;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.15423

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

The brown alga Sargassum provides a natural substrate occupied by hydrozoans in shallow marine waters. A global count in 2007 listed 39 epibiotic species of Hydrozoa growing on Sargassum, but more studies have been published since, therefore, an update is timely, particularly due to the increased abundance of Sargassum in the Caribbean. This review, based on a recent literature survey and new records from Mexico, includes 133 publications of epibiotic hydrozoans on Sargassum spanning 220 years, from 1802 to 2022. A total of 131 hydrozoan species were recorded on 26 species of Sargassum, most belonging to the subclass Hydroidolina (130), with only one record of a trachyline medusa (Gonionemus vertens, subclass Trachylinae). Most publications centered on the Tropical Atlantic, where the greatest number of hydrozoan species (67 species) were recorded. All hydrozoan species possess a hydrorhiza, except one hydromedusae species that attach to Sargassum via adhesive tentacles. Most of the hydrozoan species associated with Sargassum exhibited a benthic life cycle (93 species) and are comprised of erect, branched colonies (67 species) and large hydrothecae (69 species). Although the number of studies of epibiotic hydrozoans on Sargassum has increased since the mid-20th century, nevertheless hydrozoan richness has not reached an asymptote. Therefore, more sampling of Sargassum species would likely identify more hydrozoan species associated with Sargassum, especially among benthic Sargassum, and might help reveal potential biogeographical and ecological patterns between Sargassum and hydrozoan epibionts.

【 授权许可】

CC BY