Ectosymbiosis is a critical factor in the local benthic biodiversity of the Antarctic deep sea. - Archive ouverte HAL Access content directly
Journal Articles Marine Ecology Progress Series Year : 2008

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

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.

Dates and versions

hal-00322205 , version 1 (17-09-2008)

Identifiers

Cite

Vincent Hétérier, Bruno David, Chantal de Ridder, Thierry Rigaud. Ectosymbiosis is a critical factor in the local benthic biodiversity of the Antarctic deep sea.. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2008, 364, pp.67-76. ⟨10.3354/meps07487⟩. ⟨hal-00322205⟩
61 View
0 Download

Altmetric

Share

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More