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Allelopathic interaction among rocky intertidal invertebrates: sponge Cinachyrella cf. cavernosa and Zooxanthellate zoanthids Zoanthus sansibaricus

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Abstract

Intertidal sessile invertebrates experience tough competition for space which they avoid by releasing secondary metabolites (allelochemicals). We investigated the allelopathic interaction between sponge Cinachyrella cf. cavernosa and its neighbour zoanthids Zoanthus sansibaricus over a year on the rocky beach of Anjuna, (Goa) India. A major sterol (β-sitosterol) was isolated from the sponge, and its natural variability was checked in tagged sponges with and without their competitor zoanthids during the reproductive and non-reproductive months of the sponges. The sponge showed significant variability in the production of β-sitosterol owing to its spatial competition and asexual reproduction (budding) as predicted by the multiple regression analysis. Zoanthids are known to have dynamic mutualistic association with their autotrophic endosymbionts’ dinoflagellate (Symbiodinium, known as zooxanthellae), which are directly involved in their physiology. The phytagel™-based field assay of sponge’s bioactive compound (β-sitosterol) was conducted to check its allelopathic impact on Z. sansibaricus and its symbiotic zooxanthellae (Symbiodinium sp.). Results showed significant bleaching (50–80%) in the host Z. sansibaricus, resulting from a decrease in symbiotic zooxanthellae count, cell density, chl a and chl c content. This suggests the role of β-sitosterol as allelochemical of the sponge in preventing the overgrowth of aggressive Z. sansibaricus, possibly by affecting its symbionts. This investigation is not only important to understand the ecological roles of marine-derived allelochemicals but also to allow sustainable bioprospecting of marine resources.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to The Director, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India for his support and encouragement. We also appreciate the help from Dr Asif Ali, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu in the characterization of the marker compound (β-sitosterol). We are grateful to Dr Filipe Natalio from Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany for his valuable suggestions. We wish to express our appreciation to the editor and reviewers for their insightful comments. The author A. Singh is grateful to the CSIR, India for the award of junior and senior research fellowship.

Funding

This work was supported by CSIR funded project ‘Ocean Finder’ (Grant No. PSC0105) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India (Grant No. 31/GATE/26(01)/2011-EMR-I). This manuscript has NIO contribution no. 6782. The First Author (Anshika Singh) acknowledges the financial support given by CSIR as JRF/SRF fellowship.

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  1. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, 403004, India

    Anshika Singh & Narsinh L. Thakur

  2. National Centre for Biological Sciences (TIFR), Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560065, India

    Anshika Singh

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  1. Anshika Singh
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Correspondence to Narsinh L. Thakur.

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The field collections carried out for the purpose of this paper did not involve endangered or protected species. No specific permission was required to collect the analysed sponge samples.

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Singh, A., Thakur, N.L. Allelopathic interaction among rocky intertidal invertebrates: sponge Cinachyrella cf. cavernosa and Zooxanthellate zoanthids Zoanthus sansibaricus. Hydrobiologia 848, 4647–4659 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04667-x

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