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Context-dependent effects of symbiosis: Zoanthidea colonization generally improves Demospongiae condition in native habitats

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Abstract

In order to reconcile existing data and hypotheses on the relationship outcomes of Caribbean Zoanthidea-Demospongiae symbioses, the context-dependent survival and growth (metrics of host sponge condition) were monitored for 8–12 months, with and without Zoanthidean symbionts, in native (coral reef) and novel (mangrove) habitats. Experiments repeated over space and time revealed significant positive effects of Zoanthidea colonization on metrics of host condition and indicated that the outcome of these symbioses can shift from mutualism to parasitism when transplanted to novel habitats. Although the precise mechanisms of the symbioses remain obscured and most of the species associations have not been examined, these experiments demonstrate an example where relationship outcomes are more conserved across their evolutionary history than host associations.

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Acknowledgments

The research presented here required hundreds of hours in the field and underwater working in difficult conditions; it could not have been accomplished without the tireless efforts of E. Bartels, A. Castillo, O. Drescher, and especially B. Biggs, D. Sobers, and T. Voeltz. I am grateful to the directors and staff of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Bellairs Research Institute, Mote Tropical Research Laboratory, Curaçao Sea Aquarium, Reefcare Curaçao, and Seru Boca Marina at Santa Barbara Plantation and the generous assistance of E. Bartels, R. Haynes, C. de Jong, D. Kolenousky, H. Lessios, S. Piontek, and A. Schrier. Dive support was provided by RV Lady Lynne, RV Less Stress, Hightide Watersports, Curaçao Sea Aquarium, and Silent Immersion. Special thanks to F. Delrosun for helping me to navigate the regulations of the Government of Curaçao. Thoughtful comments of B. Biggs, D. Levitan, T. Miller, and J. Wulff improved earlier versions of the manuscript. This research is supported by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute short-term fellowship, AMNH Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research, Margaret Y. Menzel Award for Outstanding Research, Jack Winn Gramling Award in Marine Biology, and National Science Foundation under grant number OCE-0550599 (J. Wulff). This research is dedicated to the memory of Maryke Kolenousky, whose immense love of the sea was best expressed in her photography and conservation efforts through Reefcare Curaçao.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-4295, USA

    Timothy D. Swain

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Timothy D. Swain

  3. Biodiversity Synthesis Center, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA

    Timothy D. Swain

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  1. Timothy D. Swain
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Correspondence to Timothy D. Swain.

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Communicated by M. Kühl.

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Swain, T.D. Context-dependent effects of symbiosis: Zoanthidea colonization generally improves Demospongiae condition in native habitats. Mar Biol 159, 1429–1438 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-1919-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-1919-4

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