An approach to the ecological significance of chemically mediated bio-activity in Mediterranean benthic communities

Abstract

Possible ecological roles of antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, cytotoxic and antimitotic activities found in western Mediterranean benthos were investigated, and relationships were sought between these activities and taxonomic groups, presence of fouling organisms, and community structure. Cytotoxic and antimitotic activities are the most abundant, and are widespread in almost all the taxonomic groups studied. Porifera. Bryozoa and Tunicata contain the most biologically achve chemicals. Cytotoxic molecules are more frequently present in tunicates than in bryozoans. There is a close association between antirnitotic and cytotoxic, as well as between antibacterial and antifungal. activities. As antifouling defences, cytotoxic and antimitotic activities seem to be less effective than antibacterial and antifungal ones; the latter appear to function in a generalist antifouling mode. Chemically rich species are much more abundant in sciaphilic/cryptic habitats than in photophilic ones.

Biogeography of sponge chemical ecology: comparisons of tropical and temperate defenses

“…Supporting the opposite hypothesis, 1 of 11 temperate sponges was more deterrent than tropical sponges to large predators (Table 2) and 3 of 11 to small predators (Table 3). Variation of secondary metabolites occurs at several scales, including intra-specimen, intraspecific, and geographic scales (Uriz et al 1991;Harvell et al 1993;Becerro et al 1995Becerro et al , 1998Cronin and Hay 1996;Thacker et al 1998;Van Alstyne et al 1999). Although we evaluated deterrence rather than concentrations of secondary metabolites, and there is evidence that variation in secondary chemistry may have no consequences in generalist predators (Meyer and Paul 1992;Becerro et al 1998), we collected multiple specimens from multiple locations in both geographic areas in an attempt to overcome the potential intra-specimen and intra-specific variability in sponge deterrence.…”

Assessment of goods and services, vulnerability, and conservation status of European seabed biotopes: a stepping stone towards ecosystem-based marine spatial management

“…Sheltered hydrodynamic conditions naturally increase the abundance of active, rather than passive, filter-feeders, favouring thus the dominance of various species of sponges and ascidians (Bo et al, 2011); many such species have been shown to contain some of the most bioactive chemicals, providing, thus, useful insight to pharmaceutical research (Uriz et al, 1991). Sheltered conditions also increase human access and activities, rendering these communities more popular to recreational and professional fishermen, as well as scuba divers.…”

Spatial and temporal variation of natural toxicity in cnidarians, bryozoans and tunicates in Mediterranean caves

“…Tunicates are one of the Phyla with a higher percentage of toxic species in the Mediterranean (Uriz et al, 1991). We detected a large interspecies variation in toxicity in the three species analysed: one was highly toxic (i.e.…”

“…There are few studies on the bioactivity of bryozoans (Martín and Uriz, 1993;Walls et al, 1991Walls et al, , 1993Shellenberger and Ross, 1998). In the Mediterranean Sea, bryozoans are one of the most active taxa along with sponges and tunicates (Uriz et al, 1991). Martín and Uriz (1993), found strong biocide and anti-settlement activities in the extracts of Myriopora truncata and Sertella beaniana, while anti-mitotic or cytotoxic activities were moderate.…”