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Impact of an invasive alga (Womersleyella setacea) on sponge assemblages: compromising the viability of future populations

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Abstract

The effects of invasive species on native fauna are understudied, even though their consequences should be taken into consideration for the proper conservation and management of marine systems. Furthermore, bioinvasions may have greater consequences if they affect key structural species with slow dynamics such as marine sponges. We propose that reproductive output could be used as a potential early warning signal to detect possible future changes in population trends of long-lived species (i.e. sponges) as a result of biological invasions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of invasive algal (Womersleyella setacea) overgrowth on sponge reproduction by comparing the presence of reproductive elements (spermatic cysts, oocytes, embryos, and larvae) in sponges covered by a thick carpet of the invasive algae and in sponges dwelling in the same habitat but without the invasive algae. Three variables were calculated to assess the impact of the invasive alga on sponge reproduction: the reproductive effort, the proportion of individuals in reproduction, and the size of the reproductive structures. We studied eight sponge species representing the main components of the deep rocky reefs of the area. Our results showed that W. setacea had a strong negative effect on sponge reproduction in six out of eight sponge species studied, with lower and even nil reproductive structures on the sponges subjected to the algal overgrowth. Thus, considering that sexual reproduction is necessary for the persistence of most sponge populations, a significant and constant reduction of the reproductive effort may compromise their viability and affect future trends in these benthic systems.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank J. González for her help in the sample processing at the laboratory and to all the staff of the Scandola Natural Reserve for permissions and facilities during the sampling. Financial support was provided by an EU reintegration grant (ERG-2009-248252) and the project Tracking Changes in the Marine benthos by Novel Molecular Tools: Individuals, populations, communities (BENTHOMICS) from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of the Spanish Government (MICINN) (CTM2010-22218-C02). SC and EC were funded by a Juan de la Cierva Postdoctoral Fellowship. EC is part of the Marine Conservation Research Group (www.medrecover.org) of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia. The funding organizations had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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  1. Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes-CSIC, Accés a la Cala Sant Francesc 14, 17300, Blanes, Girona, Spain

    Sonia de Caralt

  2. Departament de Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, Campus Montilivi, 17071, Girona, Spain

    Emma Cebrian

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  1. Sonia de Caralt
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Correspondence to Sonia de Caralt.

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de Caralt, S., Cebrian, E. Impact of an invasive alga (Womersleyella setacea) on sponge assemblages: compromising the viability of future populations. Biol Invasions 15, 1591–1600 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-012-0394-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-012-0394-7

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