Sponges act as important microhabitats in the marine environment and promote biodiversity by harboring a wide variety of macrofauna, but little is known about the magnitude and patterns of diversity of sponge-associated communities. This study uses DNA barcoding to examine the macrofaunal communities associated with Stylissa carteri in the central Saudi Arabian Red Sea, an understudied ecosystem with high biodiversity and endemism. In total, 146 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were distinguished from 938 successfully-sequenced macrofauna individuals from 99 sponges. A significant difference was found in the macrofaunal community composition of S. carteri along a cross-shelf gradient using OTU abundance (Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index), with more amphipods associated with offshore sponges and more brittle stars and fishes associated with inshore sponges. The abundance of S. carteri also showed a gradient, increasing with proximity to shore. However, no significant differences in macrofaunal community composition or total macrofauna abundance were observed between exposed and sheltered sides of the reefs and there was no significant change in total macrofauna abundance along the inshore-offshore gradient. As climate change and ocean acidification continue to impact coral reef ecosystems, understanding the ecology of sponges and their role as microhabitats may become more important for understanding their full ramifications for biodiversity.
1.King Abdullah Univ Sci & Technol, Div Biol & Environm Sci & Engn, Red Sea Res Ctr, Thuwal 239556900, Saudi Arabia 2.Natl Museum Nat Hist, Smithsonian Inst, Washington, DC 20013 USA 3.Naturalis Biodivers Ctr, NL-2333 CR Leiden, Netherlands 4.Leiden Univ, Inst Environm Sci, Environm Biol Dept, CML, NL-2333 CC Leiden, Netherlands 5.Florida Museum Nat Hist, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA 6.Victoria Univ Wellington, Sch Biol Sci, Wellington 6012, New Zealand 7.Smithsonian Trop Res Inst, Balboa 03092, Ancon, Panama
Recommended Citation:
Kandler, Nora M.,Wooster, Michael K.,Leray, Matthieu,et al. Hyperdiverse Macrofauna Communities Associated with a Common Sponge, Stylissa carteri, Shift across Ecological Gradients in the Central Red Sea[J]. DIVERSITY-BASEL,2019-01-01,11(2)