Cryptofaunal Polychaetes from Oceanic and Continental Reefs in Venezuela

Eunicida and Amphinomida polychaetes (Annelida) inhabiting dead coral fragments in the Chinchorro Bank Biosphere Reserve, Mexican Caribbean

“…The exception is the Costa Rican coasts where rocks and rootmats of seagrasses were also sampled and the syllids were the most diverse with 12 species. The present study also showed that the 29 species of eunicids found in Chinchorro Bank were clearly larger than the 17 species recorded in northern Venezuela (Fernández et al, 2012), the 11 species reported in Costa Rica (Dean, 2016) or the 7 species collected in Cozumel Island (Ochoa-Rivera et al, 2000). Eunicids live in well developed borings, which they dig with their complex and well developed jaws; acid secretions may also occur, but this has not been verified (Hutchings, 2008).…”

“…Some species, such as Hermodice carunculata, which is a common resident of coral reefs and littoral zones of the Caribbean Sea, has been considered a major and voracious predator of both soft and hard corals, and prey on zoanthids, anemones, gorgonids, hydrocorals, scleractinians and octocorals, among others (De Assis, Dias, & Christoffersen, 2017). However, the occurrence of this species, but also of all other amphinomid species, on dead coral environments, clearly decreases in Chinchorro Bank and other Caribbean regions (Ochoa-Rivera et al, 2000;Fernández et al, 2012;Dean, 2016). So, the few abundant species identified (four), compared to the 20 species reported from the Caribbean Sea (Dean, 2012), showed that their populations do not reach a significant development in the examined dead coral environments.…”

“…Coral reefs are among the most ecologically important marine ecosystems of the planet, due to their high biodiversity and productivity, complex biological relationships and intricate trophic structures, as well as high spatial heterogeneity associated with different habitats (Glynn, 1997;Fernández, Bone, & Rodríguez, 2012;Bertness, Bruno, Silliman, & Stachowicz, 2014). Corals are abundantly distributed in Chinchorro Bank, but extensive seagrass meadows and mangrove forests, which provide additional breeding habitats for many species, can also be found there (Ruiz-Abierno & Armenteros, 2017).…”

“…Polychaetes are among the dominant invertebrates in dead coral fragments, followed by sipunculans, mollusks and crustaceans (Hutchings, 1983;Tribollet, Decherf, Hutchings, & Peyrot-Clausade, 2002;Fernández et al, 2012). Usually, boring sponges, molluscs and sipunculans are the major bioeroders of corals causing the more importat loss of coraline substrates in mature boring communities (Hutchings, 1986(Hutchings, , 2008.…”

“…In Chinchorro Bank, the high abundance and wide ocurrence at all the sampled stations of polychaetes of the family Eunicidae, could contribute to important modifications and degradation of the coralline skeletal structure due to their known bioeroder effects. Although few quantitative studies on the cryptic polychaetes have been carried out in the Caribbean Sea, they have shown that the eunicids are one of the most abundant and diverse families of polychaetes in dead coral environments (Ochoa-Rivera, Granados- Barba, & Solís-Weiss, 2000;Fernández et al, 2012). On the other hand, in Chinchorro Bank, the Amphinomida group was only represented by the family Amphinomidae, which includes some large and coral reef-dwelling polychaetes, known commonly as "fireworms", Eurythoe complanata and Hermodice carunculata (Borda et al, 2015).…”