Ecology of Sipuncula

Murina, G.-V. V.

doi:10.3354/meps017001

Cited by 43 publications

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“…Borings of xylophagains are elongate-conical to pear-shaped and thus unlike the borings reported here. Sipunculid worms are also known to bore into hard substrates, mainly carbonate, and have a broad depth range (14). Sipunculid borings are elongate, narrow, nonbranching, and straight or winding tubes (15) and thus very different from the borings of Osedax.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossil traces of the bone-eating worm Osedax in early Oligocene whale bones

Kiel

Goedert

Kahl

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Osedax is a recently discovered group of siboglinid annelids that consume bones on the seafloor and whose evolutionary origins have been linked with Cretaceous marine reptiles or to the postCretaceous rise of whales. Here we present whale bones from early Oligocene bathyal sediments exposed in Washington State, which show traces similar to those made by Osedax today. The geologic age of these trace fossils (∼30 million years) coincides with the first major radiation of whales, consistent with the hypothesis of an evolutionary link between Osedax and its main food source, although older fossils should certainly be studied. Osedax has been destroying bones for most of the evolutionary history of whales and the possible significance of this "Osedax effect" in relation to the quality and quantity of their fossils is only now recognized.annelids | deep sea | fossil record | symbiosis T he deep sea has the least explored biodiversity (1, 2), and the scarcity of food in the abyss has resulted in a range of evolutionary novelties (3)(4)(5). A recent discovery in this field is the annelid genus Osedax that lives and feeds exclusively on bones on the seafloor (6). Age estimates using molecular clocks suggest either an Eocene to Oligocene origin of Osedax, coincident with the rise of whales (6, 7), or a Cretaceous origin (7), depending on the rate used, but these estimates have not yet been corroborated by fossil evidence. Osedax belongs to the family Siboglinidae that includes the large tube worms living around deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps (6). Whereas other siboglinids live in symbiosis with chemoautotrophic bacteria, Osedax has symbionts that are heterotrophic γ-proteobacteria consuming mainly collagen and/or lipids (8). The symbionts are housed mainly in tissue that forms a "root system" extending into the bone. The action of the roots and associated bacteria results in the destruction of the bone interior. The roots are connected to the main body of the worm that emerges from the bone via a circular hole on the bone surface (6, 9). Such holes and excavations in fossil bones can arguably be used to infer the presence of Osedax in the geologic past. Here we report Oligocene whale bones that show such traces. ResultsTraces resembling those left by Osedax in whale bones today were found in two early Oligocene whales from bathyal sediments of the Pysht Formation in northwestern Washington State (Fig. 1). The whale fossils were preserved within hard carbonate concretions from rock outcrops on the modern beach terrace. The whales were small, toothed mysticetes with a body length estimated to not exceed 4 m. One specimen (USNM 539939) is the posterodorsal part of a skull that includes a right dentary, a periotic, a bulla, some teeth, and other fragments in addition to six small shark teeth (?Somniosus sp.). Boreholes are on the lateral surface of the dentary and on two rib fragments ( Fig. 1 A and C). Some of the bones preserve marks left by the teeth of scavenging sharks. The ventral portion of the skull was co...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossil traces of the bone-eating worm Osedax in early Oligocene whale bones

Kiel

Goedert

Kahl

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Golfingia margaritacea also often occurs in high densities which is further translated to high local biomass. Organisms in this genus are active burrowers and deposit feeders (Grall et al 2006;McMahon et al 2006) that indiscriminately ingest the substratum (Murina 1984) and later extract organic matter from the ingested material (Stephen and Edmonds 1972). Golfingia's body can reach over 10 cm of trunk lengthusually buried in the sediment, and several more cm of body length (introvert) can be extended outside the burrow while it searches for food on the sediment, often leaving starlike traces (Walter 1973).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Arctic seas there are only about 12 species (Murina 1977;Kędra and Murina 2007), but, despite low diversity, they often occur in very high numbers and biomass, dominating benthic communities in both shelf and deep-sea habitats (Grebmeier et al 2006Kędra and Włodarska-Kowalczuk 2008;Shields and Kędra 2009). Sipunculans are active burrowers and important bioturbators (Murina 1984). In the deep sea they are known as 'ecosystem engineers' and producers of deep burrows (genus Nephasoma;Romero-Wetzel 1987;Graf 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the deep sea they are known as 'ecosystem engineers' and producers of deep burrows (genus Nephasoma;Romero-Wetzel 1987;Graf 1989). They are mainly deposit feeders, and usually transform particulate organic matter (microalgae, protista, meiofauna, detritus, fecal pellets) from the water column, sediment surface or sediment itself (Murina 1984), but some species may also filter-feed (Gibbs 1977). In turn, sipunculans are preyed upon by cephalopods, sea anemones, crabs (Fischer 1925;Divine et al 2017), gastropods and fish (Kohn 1975), and marine mammals, such as walruses (Sheffield et al 2001;Sheffield and Grebmeier 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sipunculan fauna in the Pacific Arctic region: a significant component of benthic infaunal communities

2017

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The Sipuncula show low species diversity in the Arctic Ocean, but they often occur in very high numbers and biomass, and can dominate shelf benthic communities. We describe here the patterns of sipunculan diversity, abundance, biomass, and species distribution in the Pacific Arctic, and the relation of those patterns to controlling environmental factors. Five species (including two subspecies) belonging to two families and three genera are known to be present in Pacific-influenced Arctic waters. Although sipunculans were found at only about 30% of sampled stations, they constituted, if present, up to about 10% of the total macrobenthic abundance, and over 80% of the total infaunal biomass, particularly in many locations in the Chukchi Sea. The mean sipunculan abundance was 24.5 ± 155.9 individuals m -2 , with a maximum of 1745 individuals m -2 . The mean sipunculan biomass was 14.0 ± 73.8 g wet weight m -2 , with a maximum of 698.7 g wet weight m -2 in the northwest Chukchi Sea. The sipunculan abundances and biomass observed were related to latitude, depth, and sediment characteristics. The populations observed should be considered significant and characteristic components of the Pacific Arctic shallow shelf systems and food webs. This conclusion proves to be true also for other Arctic shelf seas like the Barents Sea, and deep Arctic ecosystems.

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“…Sipunculans are a small phylum of coelomate, protostomous and unsegmented worms, which show a worldwide distribution throughout all oceans. However, the greater proportion of species remains to be confined in shallow waters of tropical regions (Murina, 1984;Cutler 1994). Among the approximately 150 species belonging to this phylum (Cutler, 1994), we can observe a continuum from endemic to cosmopolitan species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sipuncula of the Magellan area compared with adjacent regions of Antarctica

Sáiz-Salinas¹,

Pagola-Carte²

1999

Sci. Mar.

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SUMMARY: The Magellan sipunculan fauna includes 4 families, 7 genera and 16 species. A comparison between this fauna and that from adjacent regions of Antarctica has been made. A total of 8 species and 3 genera are shared by the compared areas. Univariate analyses show no significant statistical differences among the investigated faunas, whereas a multivariate analysis corroborates that the effects of the Antarctic Convergence are stronger at the level of genera than species. Only 3 genera were able to cross over this zoogeographical boundary. However, these 3 genera succeeded in the new biotopes of Antarctica, since a total of 16 species have been recorded, compared with the 8 species only found in the Magellan region.Key words: Sipuncula, zoogeography, Magellan region, Antarctic Convergence. RESUMEN: SIPUNCULA DE LA REGIÓN MAGALLÁNICA COMPARADA CON ZONAS ADYACENTES DE LA ANTÁRTIDA. -La fauna magallánica de sipuncúlidos presenta 4 familias, 7 géneros y 16 especies. Se lleva a cabo una comparación entre esta fauna y la procedente de zonas adyacentes de la Antártida. Un total de 8 especies y 3 géneros están presentes en ambas zonas. Los resultados del análisis univariante indican la ausencia de diferencias estadísticas significativas entre las faunas investigadas, mientras que el análisis multivariante revela que los efectos de la Convergencia Antártica son más importantes a nivel de género que de especie. Sin embargo, estos géneros tuvieron cierto éxito en la colonización progresiva de los nuevos biotopos antárticos, dado que se han encontrado un total de 16 especies frente a las 8 exclusivas del área magallánica.

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Ecology of Sipuncula

Cited by 43 publications

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Fossil traces of the bone-eating worm Osedax in early Oligocene whale bones

Fossil traces of the bone-eating worm Osedax in early Oligocene whale bones

Sipunculan fauna in the Pacific Arctic region: a significant component of benthic infaunal communities

Sipuncula of the Magellan area compared with adjacent regions of Antarctica

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