Abstract
Hard substratum for attachment may easily become a limited resource in the marine environment because the density of the medium requires attachment for a stationary life and allows attachment because water transports all the required resources for sessile organisms. As a consequences, also the body surfaces of living organisms may become colonized by epibionts. This typically aquatic life form is described, as well as the consequences of such an association for the partners, and the possible defence mechanisms of the substratum organisms.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Araujo Jorge TC, Coutinho CMLM, Aguiar LEV (1992) Sulphate-reducing bacteria associated with biocorrosion—a review. Mem Inst Oswaldo-Cruz 87:329–337
Armstrong E, Yan LM, Boyd KG, Wright PC, Burgess JG (2001) The symbiotic role of marine microbes on living surfaces. Hydrobiologia 461:37–40
Bach CE, Hazlett BA, Rittschof D (2006) Sex-specific differences and the role of predation in the interaction between the hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus, and its epibiont, Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 333:181–189
Barnes DKA, Clarke A (1995) Epibiotic communities on sublittoral macroinvertebrates at Signy Island, Antarctica. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 75:689–703
Becker K, Hormchong T, Wahl M (2000) Relevance of crustacean carapace wettability for fouling. Hydrobiologia 426:193–201
Bernadsky G, Sar N, Rosenberg E (1993) Drag reduction of fish skin mucus: relationship to mode of swimming and size J Fish Biol 42(5):797–800
Bers AV, Prendergast GS, Zurn CM, Hansson L, Head RM, Thomason JC (2006) A comparative study of the anti-settlement properties of mytilid shells. Biol Lett 2:88–91
Bourget E, Harvey M (1998) Spatial analysis of recruitment of marine invertebrates on arborescent substrata. Biofouling 12(1/3):45–55
Boyd KG, Adams DR, Burgess JG (1999) Antibacterial and repellent activities of marine bacteria associated with algal surfaces. Biofouling 14:227–236
Bryan PJ, Rittschof D, Qian PY (1997) Settlement inhibition of bryozoan larvae by bacterial films and aqueous leachates. Bull Mar Sci 61:849–857
Buschbaum C, Reise K (1999) Effects of barnacle epibionts on the periwinkle Littorina littorea (L.). Helgoland Mar Res 53:56–61
Buschbaum C, Buschbaum G, Schrey I, Thieltges DW (2006) Shell-boring polychaetes affect gastropod shell strength and crab predation. Mar Ecol Prog Series 329:123–130
Cerrano C, Puce S, Chiantore M, Bavestrello G, Cattaneo-Vietti R (2001) The influence of the epizoic hydroid Hydractinia angusta on the recruitment of the Antarctic scallop Adamussium colbecki. Polar Biol 24:577–581
Chiavelli DA, Mills EL, Threlkeld ST (1993) Host preference, seasonality, and community interactions of zooplankton epibionts. Limnol Oceanogr 38:574–583
Clare AS (1996) Natural product antifoulants: status and potential. Biofouling 9:211–229
Clare AS, Rittschof D, Gerhart DJ, Maki JS (1992) Molecular approaches to nontoxic antifouling. Invertebr Reprod Dev 22:67–76
Cook JA, Chubb JC, Veltkamp CJ (1998) Epibionts of Asellus aquaticus (L.) (Crustacea, Isopoda): an SEM study. Freshwater Biol 39:423–438
Costerton JW, Cheng KJ, Geesey GG, Ladd TI, Nickel JC, Dasgupta M, Marrie TJ (1987) Bacterial biofilms in nature and disease. Annu Rev Microbiol 41:435–464
Davis AR, Moreno CA (1995) Selection of substrata by juvenile Choromytilus chorus (Mytilidae)—are chemical cues important. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 191:167–180
Davis AR, White GA (1994) Epibiosis in a guild of sessile subtidal invertebrates in South-Eastern Australia—a quantitative survey. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 177:1–14
Davis AR, Wright AE (1989) Interspecific differences in fouling of two congeneric ascidians (Eudistoma olivaceum and E. capsulatum): is surface acidity an effective defense? Mar Biol 102:491–497
Davis AR, Targett NM, McConnell OJ, Young CM (1989) Epibiosis of marine algae and benthic invertebrates: natural products chemistry and other mechanisms inhibiting settlement and overgrowth. In: Scheuer PJ (ed) BioOrganic Marine Chemistry, vol 3. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 86–114
Dexter SC, Lucas KE (1985) The study of biofilm formation under water by photoacoustic spectroscopy. J Coll Interf Sci 104:15–27
Dobretsov SV (1999) Effects of macroalgae and biofilm on settlement of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L.) larvae. Biofouling 14:153–165
Dobretsov SV, Qian PY (2002) Effect of bacteria associated with the green alga Ulva reticulata on marine micro- and macrofouling. Biofouling 18:217–228
Dobretsov S, Qian PY (2004) The role of epibotic bacteria from the surface of the soft coral Dendronephthya sp in the inhibition of larval settlement. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 299:35–50
Dobretsov S, Dahms HU, Qian PY (2004) Antilarval and antimicrobial activity of waterborne metabolites of the sponge Callyspongia (Euplacella) pulvinata: evidence of allelopathy. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 271:133–146
Dobretsov S, Dahms HU, Qian PY (2005) Antibacterial and anti-diatom activity of Hong Kong sponges. Aquat Microb Ecol 38:191–201
Dobretsov S, Dahms HU, Harder T, Qian PY (2006) Allelochemical defense against epibiosis in the macroalga Caulerpa racemosa var. turbinata. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 318:165–175
Dougherty JR, Russell MP (2005) The association between the coquina clam Donax fossor Say and its epibiotic hydroid Lovenella gracilis Clarke. J Shellfish Res 24:35–46
Dreanno C, Matsumura K, Dohnae N, Takio K, Hirota H, Kirby R, Clare AS (2006) An {alpha}2-macroglobulin-like protein is the cue to gregarious settlement of the barnacle Balanus amphitrite. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:14396–14401
Egan S, Thomas T, Holmstrom C, Kjelleberg S (2000) Phylogenetic relationship and antifouling activity of bacterial epiphytes from the marine alga Ulva lactuca. Environ Microbiol 2:343–347
Enderlein P, Moorthi S, Rohrscheidt H, Wahl M (2003) Optimal foraging versus shared doom effects: interactive influence of mussel size and epibiosis on predator preference. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 292:231–242
Fernandez L, Parapar J, Gonzalez-Gurriaran E, Muino R (1998) Epibiosis and ornamental cover patterns of the spider crab Maja squinado on the Galician coast, northwestern Spain: influence of behavioral and ecological characteristics of the host. J Crustacean Biol 18:728–737
Forester AJ (1979) The association between the sponge Halichondria panicea (Pallas) and the scallop Chlamys varia (L.): a commensal–protective mutualism. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 36:1–10
Gili JM, Abello P, Villanueva R (1993) Epibionts and intermolt duration in the crab Bathynectes piperitus. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 98:107–113
Gilturnes MS, Fenical W (1992) Embryos of Homarus americanus are protected by epibiotic bacteria. Biol Bull 182:105–108
Gribben PE, Marshall DJ, Steinberg PD (2006) Less inhibited with age? Larval age modifies responses to natural settlement inhibitors. Biofouling 22:101–106
Gutt J, Schickan T (1998) Epibiotic relationships in the Antarctic benthos. Antarctic Sci 10:398–405
Hadfield MG, Paul V (2001) Natural chemical cues for settlement and metamorphosis of marine invertebrate larvae. In: McClintock B, Baker BJ (eds) Marine chemical ecology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp 1–610
Harder T, Lam C, Qian PY (2002) Induction of larval settlement in the polychaete Hydroides elegans by marine biofilms: an investigation of monospecific diatom films as settlement cues. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 229:105–112
Harder T, Lau SCK, Dobretsov S, Fang TK, Qian PY (2003) A distinctive epibiotic bacterial community on the soft coral Dendronephthya sp and antibacterial activity of coral tissue extracts suggest a chemical mechanism against bacterial epibiosis. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 43:337–347
Hodson SL, Burke C (1994) Microfouling of salmon cage netting: a preliminary investigation. Biofouling 8:93–105
Hurd CL, Durante KM, Harrison PJ (2000) Influence of bryozoan colonization on the physiology of the kelp Macrocystis integrifolia (Laminariales, Phaeophyta) from nitrogen-rich and -poor sites in Barkley Sound, British Columbia, Canada. Phycologia 39:435–440
Kanagasabhapathy M, Sasaki H, Haldar S, Yamasaki S, Nagata S (2006) Antibacterial activities of marine epibiotic bacteria isolated from brown algae of Japan. Ann Microbiol 56:167–173
Kelly SR, Jensen PR, Henkel TP, Fenical W, Pawlik JR (2003) Effects of Caribbean sponge extracts on bacterial attachment. Aquat Microb Ecol 31:175–182
Key MM, Jeffries WB, Voris HK, Yang CM (1996) Epizoic bryozoans, horseshoe crabs, and other mobile benthic substrates. Bull Mar Sci 58:368–384
Laudien J, Wahl M (1999) Indirect effects of epibiosis on host mortality: seastar predation on differently fouled mussels. PSZNI Mar Ecol 20:35–47
Laudien J, Wahl M (2004) Associational resistance of fouled blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) against starfish (Asterias rubens) predation: relative importance of structural and chemical properties of the epibionts. Helgoland Mar Res 58:162–167
Lee OO, Qian PY (2004) Potential control of bacterial epibiosis on the surface of the sponge Mycale adhaerens. Aquat Microb Ecol 34:11–21
Lee OO, Lau SCK, Qian PY (2006) Defense against epibiosis in the sponge Mycale adhaerens: modulating the bacterial community associated with its surface. Aquat Microb Ecol 43:55–65
Maki JS, Mitchell K (2002) Biofouling in the marine environment. In: Bitton G (ed) Encyclopedia of environmental microbiology. Wiley, New York, pp 610–619
Maldonado M, Uriz MJ (1992) Relationships between sponges and crabs—patterns of epibiosis on Inachus aguiarii (Decapoda, Majidae). Mar Biol 113:281–286
Manning LM, Lindquist N (2003) Helpful habitant or pernicious passenger: interactions between an infaunal bivalve, an epifaunal hydroid and three potential predators. Oecologia 134:415–422
Manriquez PH, Cancino JM (1996) Bryozoan-macroalgal interactions: do epibionts benefit? Mar Ecol Prog Ser 138:189–197
Marin A, Belluga MDL (2005) Sponge coating decreases predation on the bivalve Arca noae. J Mollus Stud 71:1–6
Maximilien R, de Nys R, Holmstrom C, Gram L, Givskov M, Crass K, Kjelleberg S, Steinberg PD (1998) Chemical mediation of bacterial surface colonisation by secondary metabolites from the red alga Delisea pulchra. Aquat Microb Ecol 15:233–246
Mearns-Spragg A, Bregu M, Boyd KG, Burgess JG (1998) Cross-species induction and enhancement of antimicrobial activity produced by epibiotic bacteria from marine algae and invertebrates, after exposure to terrestrial bacteria. Lett Appl Microbiol 27:142–146
Nylund GM, Cervin G, Hermansson M, Pavia H (2005) Chemical inhibition of bacterial colonization by the red alga Bonnemaisonia hamifera. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 302:27–36
Orlov D (1997) Epizoic associations among the white sea hydroids. Sci Mar 61:17–26
Patil JS, Anil AC (2000) Epibiotic community of the horseshoe crab Tachypleus gigas. Mar Biol 136:699–713
Pelletreau KN, Muller-Parker G (2002) Sulfuric acid in the phaeophyte alga Desmarestia munda deters feeding by the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. Mar Biol 141:1–9
Pitcher CR, Butler AJ (1987) Predation by asteroids, escape response, and morphometrics of scallops with epizoic sponges. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 112:233–249
Prescott RC (1990) Sources of predatory mortality in the bay scallop Argopecten irradians (Lamarck)—interactions with seagrass and epibiotic coverage. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 144:63–83
Railkin AI (2004) Marine biofouling: colonization processes and defenses. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL
Reiss H, Knauper S, Kröncke I (2003) Invertebrate associations with gastropod shells inhabited by Pagurus bernhardus (Paguridae)—secondary hard substrate increasing biodiversity in North Sea soft-bottom communities. Sarsia 88:404–414
Saroyan JR (1968) Marine biology in antifouling paints. J Paint Technol 41:285–303
Steinberg PD, De Nys R, Kjelleberg S (1998) Chemical inhibition of epibiota by Australian seaweeds. Biofouling 12:227–244
Thevanathan R, Nirmala N, Manoharan A, Gangadharan A, Rajarajan R, Dhamotharan R, Selvaraj S (2000) On the occurrence of nitrogen fixing bacteria as epibacterial flora of some marine green algae. Seaweed Res Utiln 22:189–197
Thieltges DW, Buschbaum C (2007) Vicious circle in the intertidal: facilitation between barnacle epibionts, a shell boring polychaete and trematode parasites in the periwinkle Littorina littorea. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 340:90–95
Threlkeld ST, Willey RL (1993) Colonization, interaction, and organization of Cladoceran epibiont communities. Limnol Oceanogr 38:584–591
Wahl M (1989) Marine epibiosis. 1. Fouling and antifouling—some basic aspects. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 58:175–189
Wahl M (1997a) Increased drag reduces growth of snails: comparison of flume and in situ experiments. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 151:291–293
Wahl M (1997b) Living attached: aufwuchs, fouling, epibiosis. In: Nagabhushanam R, Thompson MF (eds) Fouling organisms of the Indian Ocean: biology and control technology. Oxford & IBH, New Delhi
Wahl M (2001) Small scale variability of benthic assemblages: biogenic neighborhood effects. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 258:101–114
Wahl M (2008) Ecological lever and interface ecology: epibiosis modulates the interactions between host and environment. Biofouling 24:427–438
Wahl M, Banaigs B (1991) Marine epibiosis. 3. Possible antifouling defense adaptations in Polysyncraton lacazei (Giard) (Didemnidae, Ascidiacea). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 145:49–63
Wahl M, Hay ME (1995) Associational resistance and shared doom—effects of epibiosis on herbivory. Oecologia 102:329–340
Wahl M, Hoppe K (2002) Interactions between substratum rugosity, colonization density, and periwinkle grazing efficiency. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 225:239–249
Wahl M, Lafargue F (1990) Marine epibiosis. 2. Reduced fouling on Polysyncraton lacazei (Didemnidae, Tunicata) and proposal of an antifouling potential index. Oecologia 82:275–282
Wahl M, Mark O (1999) The predominantly facultative nature of epibiosis: experimental and observational evidence. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 187:59–66
Wahl M, Jensen PR, Fenical W (1994) Chemical control of bacterial epibiosis on ascidians. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 110:45–57
Wahl M, Hay ME, Enderlein P (1997) Effects of epibiosis on consumer-prey interactions. Hydrobiologia 355:49–59
Wahl M, Kroger K, Lenz M (1998) Non-toxic protection against epibiosis. Biofouling 12:205–226
Warner GF (1997) Occurrence of epifauna on the periwinkle, Littorina littorea (L.), and interactions with the polychaete Polydora ciliata (Johnston). Hydrobiologia 355:41–47
Wieczorek SK, Todd CD (1998) Inhibition and facilitation of settlement of epifaunal marine invertebrate larvae by microbial biofilm cues. Biofouling 12:81–118
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wahl, M. (2009). Epibiosis. In: Wahl, M. (eds) Marine Hard Bottom Communities. Ecological Studies, vol 206. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/b76710_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/b76710_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-92703-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-92704-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)