Experimental study of the ability of the sponge Halichondria panicea (Porifera: Demospongiae) to compete for a substrate in shallow-water fouling communities of the White Sea
- Authors: Khalaman V.V.1, Komendantov A.Y.1
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Affiliations:
- White Sea Biological Station, Zoological Institute
- Issue: Vol 43, No 1 (2016)
- Pages: 69-74
- Section: Ecology
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/1062-3590/article/view/181453
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359015060059
- ID: 181453
Cite item
Abstract
The ability of the sponge Halichondria panicea to assimilate into the fouling communities of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis and the solitary ascidian Styela rustica has been studied in a field experiment, in which sponge fragments have been introduced artificially into epibenthic communities. The growth of H. panicea was suppressed greatly in the presence of young mussels; its survival rate averaged 40%. In the communities where S. rustica dominated, the survival rate of H. panicea reached 100%, but the growth rate was lower than in the control group (without competitor species). Despite the high natural growth rate and toxicity, the settlement success of H. panicea was low on the substrate occupied by another fouling species.
About the authors
V. V. Khalaman
White Sea Biological Station, Zoological Institute
Author for correspondence.
Email: VKhalaman@gmail.com
Russian Federation, Universitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg, 199034
A. Yu. Komendantov
White Sea Biological Station, Zoological Institute
Email: VKhalaman@gmail.com
Russian Federation, Universitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg, 199034
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