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Commensalism or mutualism: conditional outcomes in a branchiobdellid–crayfish symbiosis

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Abstract

A growing body of evidence suggests that the costs and benefits involved in cleaning interactions can vary over space and time depending on the environmental conditions. However, whether the same cleaners actually induce variable net outcomes in terms of host fitness remains unclear to date. Branchiobdellid annelids are generally regarded as commensals or rarely parasites of their freshwater crayfish hosts, but a recent study suggests that they may also function as cleaning organisms. Under natural conditions, crayfish can experience fouling of the exposed surfaces of their exoskeletons and their gills (e.g., epibiosis) by various epibionts and particles of organic debris, and branchiobdellids graze on these sources of fouling. Here, we examined the extent to which variation in fouling pressure in the environment alters the outcome of the interaction between branchiobdellids and their crayfish host Cambaroide similis. A series of manipulations were performed in artificial environments designed to simulate either high or low fouling pressure. We used crayfish growth rates and mortality as direct measurements of the net costs and benefits of cleaning. Branchiobdellids had no significant effect on crayfish growth or mortality when cultured under low fouling pressure. However, their presence had a significant positive impact on host growth rates when cultured under high fouling pressure. These results suggest that the relationship between crayfish and branchiobdellids can fluctuate between commensalism and mutualism depending mainly on the environmental fouling pressure. We hypothesize that the outcome of cleaning interactions may largely depend on the factors directly related to the need for cleaning, such as parasite loads or fouling pressure.

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Acknowledgments

We are very thankful to Zhen Zhu, Na Ahn, Sae Heon Chung for their assistance in the field and laboratory work. We also thank Gi Sik Min, Tarmmo Timm and Mitko Subchev for providing valuable information on Korean branchiobdellids. We especially thank Dr. Yong-Hak Kim at the School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, for conducting the epifluorescent microscopy and Stuart Gelder for providing helpful comments on the manuscript and confirming the identification of Korean branchiobdellids. This manuscript was greatly improved by valuable comments and suggestions from Bryan Brown and Susan Lappan. We also give thanks to Tae Won Lee for inspiring the study and Jong Yeol Moon for providing important suggestions throughout the study. J.C. Choe was funded by Ewha Womans University. The experiment and methodology in this study comply with current laws of Republic of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742, South Korea

    Ju Hyung Lee

  2. Division of EcoScience, Ewha Woman’s University, Seodaemun-gu Daehyun-dong 11-1, Seoul, 120-750, Republic of Korea

    Tae Won Kim & Jae Chun Choe

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  1. Ju Hyung Lee
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  2. Tae Won Kim
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Correspondence to Tae Won Kim.

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Communicated by Carla Caceres.

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Lee, J.H., Kim, T.W. & Choe, J.C. Commensalism or mutualism: conditional outcomes in a branchiobdellid–crayfish symbiosis. Oecologia 159, 217–224 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1195-7

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