Evidence for the bioerosion of deep-water corals by echinoids in the Northeast Atlantic |
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| Institution: | 1. Aix Marseille Univ, Université de Toulon, CNRS, IRD, MIO (Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography), 13288 Marseille, France;2. Institute of marine biology, University of Montenegro, P.Fah 69, 85330 Kotor, Montenegro;3. European Commission, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Avenue Joseph-II, 99 office 02/05, 1049 Brussels, Belgium;4. Agence de l’Eau Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse, Délégation de Marseille, Immeuble le Noailles, 62 La Canebière, 13001 Marseille, France;1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geodinâmica e Geofísica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Campus UFRN, P.O. Box 1596, Natal, 59072-970, Brazil;2. Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Campus UFRN, P.O. Box 1596, Natal, 59072-970, Brazil;1. Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d''Ecogéochimie des Environnements Benthiques, LECOB, F-66650, Banyuls, France;2. Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Océanographie Microbienne, LOMIC, F-66650, Banyuls, France;3. Plastic@Sea, Laboratoire d’Océanographie Microbienne, LOMIC, F-66650, Banyuls, France;1. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Via Vitaliano Brancati, 60, 00144 Rome, Italy;2. Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (SZN), Via Po 25, 00198 Rome, Italy |
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| Abstract: | In situ video observations of echinoids interacting with deep-sea coral are common in the deep-sea, but paradoxically the deep-sea literature is devoid of reports of bioerosion by extant echinoids. Here we present evidence of contemporary bioerosion of cold-water coral by four species of deep-sea echinoids, Gracilechinus elegans, Gracilechinus alexandri, Cidaris cidaris, and Araeosoma fenestratum, showing that they actively predate on the living framework of reef building corals, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata, in the NE Atlantic. Echinoid specimens were collected in six canyons located in the Bay of Biscay, France and two canyons on the north side of the Porcupine Bank and Goban Spur, Ireland. A total of 44 live specimens from the four taxa (9 of G. elegans, 4 of G. alexandri, 21 of C. cidaris and 10 of A. fenestratum) showed recent ingestion of the coral infrastructure. Upon dissection, live coral skeleton was observed encased in a thick mucus layer within the gastrointestinal tract of G. elegans and G. alexandri while both live and dead coral fragments were found in C. cidaris and A. fenestratum. Echinoid bioerosion limits the growth of shallow-water reefs. Our observations suggest that echinoids may also play an important role in the ecology of deep-water coral reefs. |
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