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Octocoral colonies as spawning ground for the cuttlefish Sepiella inermis (Cephalopoda: Sepiidae)

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Abstract

Corals are key ecosystem engineers, supporting marine biodiversity by providing nursery ground and living habitat. Among corals, octocorals are a diverse group of soft corals that are an integral part of reef ecosystems. In the present study, the association between two octocoral corals Pseudopterogorgia sp. Kükenthal, 1919 and Menella sp. Gray, 1870, and the cuttlefish Sepiella inermis were described from the intertidal region of the highly urbanized seascape of Mumbai, India. S. inermis used the octocorals as spawning substratum during their spawning season in October–November, 2020. Out of 92 octocoral colonies from two sites, 48.9% were found with cuttlefish egg capsules attached. 36 (57.14%) out of 63 colonies and 9 (31.03%) out of 29 colonies were hosted with cuttlefish eggs capsules at Marine Drive (a protected bay) and Worli (a site exposed to wave action). This suggests that cuttlefish prefer to lay their eggs in protected areas irrespective of the octocoral species. The presence of cuttlefish eggs on octocorals and absence on other possible structures highlights the ecological importance of octocorals, the necessity of proactive conservation measures, and comprehensive studies to protect this crucial intertidal habitat in urban coastlines.

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Acknowledgments

Authors are thankful to the Scientist-in-Charge, CSIR-NIO, Regional Centre, Mumbai, for the facilities. We want to thank three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments for improving the article. The author (SG) would like to acknowledge the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for providing the CSIR-Senior Research Fellowship (CSIR-SRF). This is CSIR-NIO contribution number  6774.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Benthic Ecological Trait Analysis (L-BETA), Biological Oceanography Division, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO), Regional Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400053, India

    Santosh Gaikwad & Sabyasachi Sautya

  2. Department of Marine Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, 620 024, India

    Santosh Gaikwad & Mandar Nanajkar

  3. CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, 403004, India

    Kalyan De & Mandar Nanajkar

Authors
  1. Santosh Gaikwad
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  2. Kalyan De
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  3. Mandar Nanajkar
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  4. Sabyasachi Sautya
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the conceptualization and design of the study. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Santosh Gaikwad, Kalyan De, and Sabyasachi Sautya. All authors reviewed, edited, and approved the finalized manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sabyasachi Sautya.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and will be available with the corresponding author on request.

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No approval of research ethics committees was required to accomplish the goals of this study because the work was conducted with an unregulated invertebrate species. Two Sepiella inermis egg capsules were collected for identification as the species is an unregulated invertebrate species as per the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. And none of the octocorals were harmed during the study.

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Gaikwad, S., De, K., Nanajkar, M. et al. Octocoral colonies as spawning ground for the cuttlefish Sepiella inermis (Cephalopoda: Sepiidae). Symbiosis 85, 115–121 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-021-00796-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-021-00796-y

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