Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Stalked tunicates Boltenia ovifera form biogenic habitat in the rocky subtidal zone of Nova Scotia

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The stalked tunicate Boltenia ovifera is widely distributed in the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans on rocky substrata at 10–300 m depth, although its ecological role in benthic communities is poorly understood. The distribution and abundance of B. ovifera were recorded at 10–100 m depth in towed-video transects in November 2011 and in June, July, and November 2012 off a wave-exposed headland near Halifax, Nova Scotia. Specimens also were collected at 30 m depth using SCUBA (44°26.88′N, 63°31.59′W) in September 2012. Areas dominated by B. ovifera had densities of 10–100 individuals m−2 on rocky substrata at 30–60 m depth. These tunicate beds often were associated with sparse kelp (Agarum clathratum) and turf-forming red algae. A generalized additive model indicated that depth, substrate type, and benthic algal type were strong predictors of tunicate abundance. Twenty-two epibiotic species were found on specimens of B. ovifera, including juvenile conspecifics. Filter-feeding macroinvertebrates, including anemones and soft corals, were more abundant in areas with B. ovifera than in areas without these tunicates. Our findings suggest that beds of B. ovifera can act as biogenic habitat to enhance local species richness in the rocky subtidal zone of Nova Scotia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ackley D, Witherell D (1999) Development of a marine habitat protection area in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Ecosystem approaches for fisheries management Alaska sea grant college program. pp 511–526

  • Andrews AH, Cordes EE, Mahoney MM, Munk K, Coale KH, Cailliet GM, Heifetz J (2002) Age, growth and radiometric age validation of a deep-sea, habitat-forming gorgonian (Primnoa resedaeformis) from the Gulf of Alaska. Hydrobiologia 471:101–110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beaulieu SE (2001) Colonization of habitat islands in the deep sea: recruitment to glass sponge stalks. Deep-Sea Res Part I 48:1121–1137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker JJ, Sandwell DT, Smith WHF, Braud J, Binder B, Depner J, Fabre D, Factor J, Ingalls S, Kim S-H, Ladner R, Marks K, Nelson S, Pharaoh A, Trimmer R, Von Rosenberg J, Wallace G, Weatherall P (2009) Global bathymetry and elevation data at 30 arc seconds resolution: SRTM30_PLUS. Mar Geod 32:355–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buhl-Mortensen L, Vanreusel A, Gooday AJ, Levin LA, Priede IG, Buhl-Mortensen P, Gheerardvn H, King NJ, Raes M (2010) Biological structures as a source of habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity on the deep ocean margins. Mar Ecol 31:21–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multi-model inference: a practical information-theoretic approach, 2nd edn. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Castilla LC, Lagos NA, Cerda M (2004) Marine ecosystem engineering by the alien ascidian Pyura praeputialis on a mid-intertidal rocky shore. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 268:119–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman ND, Moore CG, Harries DB, Lyndon AR (2012) The community associated with biogenic reefs formed by the polychaete, Serpula vermicularis. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 92:679–685

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cranfield HJ, Rowden AA, Smith DJ, Gordon DP, Michael KP (2004) Macrofaunal assemblages of benthic habitat of different complexity and the proposition of a model of biogenic reef habitat regeneration in Foveaux Strait, New Zealand. J Sea Res 52:109–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dayton PK (1985) Ecology of kelp communities. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 16:215–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dean TA (1981) Structural aspects of sessile invertebrates as organizing forces in an estuarine fouling community. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 53:163–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duggins DO, Simenstad CA, Estes JA (1989) Magnification of secondary production by kelp detritus in coastal marine ecosystems. Science 245:170–173

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eckman JE (1990) A model of passive settlement by planktonic larvae onto bottoms of differing roughness. Limnol Oceanogr 35:887–901

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatfield C, Logan A, Thomas MLH (1992) Ascidian depth zonation on sublittoral hard substrates off Deer Island, New Brunswick, Canada. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 34:197–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes KW, Van Niel KP, Kendrick GA, Grove SL (2008) Modelling distribution of marine benthos from hydroacoustics and underwater video. Cont Shelf Res 28:1800–1810

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Humphries AT, La Peyre MK, Kimball ME, Rozas LP (2011) Testing the effect of habitat structure and complexity on nekton assemblages using experimental oyster reefs. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 409:172–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones CG, Lawton JH, Shachak M (1994) Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos 69:373–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joy MK, Death RG (2004) Predictive modelling and spatial mapping of freshwater fish and decapod assemblages using GIS and neural networks. Freshw Biol 49:1036–1052

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenchington E (1999) Benthic faunal species associated with scallop grounds in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. In: Alaska Department of Fish and Game and University of Alaska Fairbanks. A workshop examining potential fishing effects on population dynamics and benthic community structure of scallops with emphasis on the weathervane scallop Patinopecten caurinus in Alaskan waters. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Commercial Fisheries, Special Publication 14, Juneau, pp 44–52

  • Kenchington E, Duplisea DE, Curtis JMR, Rice JC, Bundy A, Koen-Alonso M, Doka SE (2013) Identification of species and habitats that support commercial, recreational or aboriginal fisheries in Canada. DFO Can Sci Advis Sec Res Doc

  • Kostylev VE, Todd BJ, Fader GBJ, Courtney RC, Cameron GDM, Pickrill RA (2001) Benthic habitat mapping on the scotian shelf based on multibeam bathymetry, surficial geology and sea floor photographs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 219:121–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lacalli T (1980) Annual spawning cycles and planktonic larvae of benthic invertebrates from Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick. Can J Zool 59:433–440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsey EL, Altieri AH, Witman JD (2006) Influence of biogenic habitat on the recruitment and distribution of a subtidal xanthid crab. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 306:223–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Logan A (1988) A sublittoral hard substrate epibenthic community below 30 m in Head Harbour Passage, New Brunswick, Canada. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 27:445–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Logan A, Page FH, Thomas MLH (1984) Depth zonation of epibenthos on sublittoral hard substrates off Deer Island, Bay of Fundy, Canada. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 18:571–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mann KH (1972a) Ecological energetics of the seaweed zone in a marine bay on the Atlantic coast of Canada. I. Zonation and biomass of seaweeds. Mar Biol 12:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann KH (1972b) Ecological energetics of the seaweed zone in a marine bay on the Atlantic coast of Canada. II. Productivity of the seaweeds. Mar Biol 14:199–209

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller RJ, Etter RJ (2011) Rock walls: small-scale diversity hotspots in the subtidal Gulf of Maine. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 425:153–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mortensen P, Buhl-Mortensen L (2004) Distribution of deep-water gorgonian corals in relation to benthic habitat features in the Northeast Channel (Atlantic Canada). Mar Biol 144:1223–1238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mumby PJ, Steneck RS (2008) Coral reef management and conservation in light of rapidly evolving ecological paradigms. Trends Ecol Evol 23:555–563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orth RJ, Heck KL Jr, van Montfrans J (1984) Faunal communities in seagrass beds: a review of the influence of plant structure and prey characteristics on predator-prey relationships. Estuaries 7:339–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Passarelli C, Olivier F, Paterson DM, Hubas C (2012) Impacts of biogenic structures on benthic assemblages: microbes, meiofauna, macrofauna and related ecosystem functions. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 465:85–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen JK, Svane I (1995) Larval dispersal in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis (L.). Evidence for a closed population. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 186:89–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plough HH (1969) Genetic polymorphism in a stalked ascidian from the Gulf of Maine. J Hered 60:193–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Plough HH (1978) Sea squirts of the Atlantic continental shelf from Maine to Texas. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Sepúlveda R, Cancino JM, Thiel M (2003) The peracarid epifauna associated with the ascidian Pyura chilensis (Molina, 1782) (Ascidiacea: Pyuridae). J Nat Hist 37:1555–1569

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith F, Witman JD (1999) Species diversity in subtidal landscapes: maintenance by physical processes and larval recruitment. Ecology 80:51–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steneck RS, Graham MH, Bourque BJ, Corbett D, Erlandson JM, Estes JA, Tegner MJ (2002) Kelp forest ecosystems: biodiversity, stability, resilience and future. Environ Conserv 29:436–459

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens BG (2003) Settlement, substratum preference, and survival of red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus, (Tilesius, 1815) glaucothoe on natural substrata in the laboratory. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 283:63–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2012) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0. http://www.R-project.org/

  • Vitaliano J, Packer D, Reid R, Guida V (2013) Broad-scale, dense amphipod tube aggregations on the sea bed: implications for resource species that utilize benthic habitats. Fish Oceanogr 22:61–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voultsiadou E, Pyrounaki MM, Chintiroglou C (2007) The habitat engineering tunicate Microcosmus sabatieri Roule (1885) and its associated peracarid epifauna. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 74:197–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wentworth CK (1992) A scale and class terms for clastic sediments. J Geol 30:377–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witman JD (1985) Refuges, biological disturbance, and rocky subtidal community structure in New England. Ecol Monogr 55:421–445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood SN (2006) Generalized additive models: an introduction with R. Chapman and Hall/CRC, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood ACL, Probert PK, Rowden AA, Smith AM (2012) Complex habitat generated by marine bryozoans: a review of its distribution, structure, diversity, threats and conservation. Aquat Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst 22:547–563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yakovis EL, Artemieva AV, Shunatova NN, Varfolomeeva MA (2008) Multiple foundation species shape benthic habitat islands. Oecologia 155:785–795

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank J. Lindley, A. Harding, A. Pinder, C. Feehan, and A. McCurdy for field and laboratory assistance; A. Smith, W. Link, and C. Francis for statistical advice; M. Brown for assistance in producing the study site map; and C. Francis for comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. This research was funded by a Discovery Grant to R.E.S from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada. F.T-Y.F. was supported by an NSERC undergraduate research scholarship and funding from the Dalhousie Marine Biology Co-op Program. K.F-D. was supported by a Dalhousie Killam Scholarship and an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4J1, Canada

    Fiona T.-Y. Francis, Karen Filbee-Dexter & Robert E. Scheibling

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada

    Fiona T.-Y. Francis

Authors
  1. Fiona T.-Y. Francis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Karen Filbee-Dexter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Robert E. Scheibling
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fiona T.-Y. Francis.

Additional information

Communicated by J Grassle.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Francis, F.TY., Filbee-Dexter, K. & Scheibling, R.E. Stalked tunicates Boltenia ovifera form biogenic habitat in the rocky subtidal zone of Nova Scotia. Mar Biol 161, 1375–1383 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2425-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2425-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation