Fish feeding and chemical defenses of tropical brown algae in Western Australia

Steinberg, P. D.; Paul, VJ

doi:10.3354/meps058253

Cited by 56 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…As in previous studies (Steinberg 1986, Steinberg andPaul 1990), levels of phenolics in tropical brown algae in this study were consistently lower than those from related temperate species (Steinberg 1985(Steinberg , 1986(Steinberg , 1989. This seems to be a consistent pattern among tropical brown algae from the Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans (Steinberg and Paul 1990; to our knowledge there are no data available for Atlantic or Caribbean species).…”

Section: Secondary Chemistry Of Tropical Brown Algaesupporting

confidence: 53%

“…The values reported (~ 1.5 to 2.5% by dry mass) here for freshly collected algae are in fact relatively high for tropical Sargassum spp. (Steinberg 1986, Steinberg andPaul 1990). …”

Section: Secondary Chemistry Of Tropical Brown Algaementioning

confidence: 99%

“…These compounds can comprise up to 20% of the dry mass of temperate brown algae Glombitza 1986, Steinberg 1989), and are perhaps the most common chemical defenses in temperate seaweeds (Geiselman and McConnell 1981, Steinberg 1985, Johnson and Mann 1986, Van Alstyne 1988. Tropical brown algae, however, appear to consistently contain very low levels of polyphenolics (Steinberg 1986 andunpublished data, Steinberg andPaul 1990; this conclusion is based on samples from Tahiti, Hawaii, Guam, and both tropical coasts of Australia) comparable to the lowest levels found in palatable temperate species (Steinberg 1985). Many tropical algae also lack other obvious chemical defenses, although some species (particularly in the order Dictyotales) produce other carbon-based, non-polar compounds, which deter fishes or other herbivores (Hay et al 1987.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lack of avoidance of phenolic-rich brown algae by tropical herbivorous fishes

et al. 1991

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Abstract. High levels of polyphloroglucinol phenolics in marine brown algae are usually interpreted as a defensive response to herbivory. However, tropical brown algae generally contain very low levels of phenolics, even though herbivory in many tropical systems (e.g. coral reefs) is intense. This apparent paradox would be explained ifpolyphenolics did not deter tropical herbivores, in which case selection by herbivores for high levels of phenolics in tropical algae would be weak. To examine this hypothesis, in February 1989 we presented mixed assemblages of herbivorous fishes on the Great Barrier Reef with tropical, phenolic-poor brown algae (primarily Sargassum spp.) and closely related (conspecifics in one instance) phenolic-rich temperate species. Different species of brown algae were eaten at very different rates, but these differences were not correlated with variation in the phenolic levels among the plants. TLC and NMR analyses showed no evidence of other, non-polar, metabolites in these algae, with the exception of the temperate species Homoeostrichus sinclairii. Thus, variation in non-polar metabolites also did not explain the differences in susceptibility to herbivores among these algae. We conclude that the herbivorous fishes studied here were not deterred by phenolic-rich algae, which suggests that levels of phenolics in many tropical algae may generally be low due to their ineffectiveness as defences. However, alternative explanations for the pattern are possible, and these are discussed.

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Section: Secondary Chemistry Of Tropical Brown Algaesupporting

confidence: 53%

“…The values reported (~ 1.5 to 2.5% by dry mass) here for freshly collected algae are in fact relatively high for tropical Sargassum spp. (Steinberg 1986, Steinberg andPaul 1990). …”

Section: Secondary Chemistry Of Tropical Brown Algaementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lack of avoidance of phenolic-rich brown algae by tropical herbivorous fishes

et al. 1991

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“…In addition, several studies have not found support for a latitudinal gradient in chemical defenses (McCaffrey and Endean 1985;McClintock 1987;Steinberg and Paul 1990;Van Alstyne and Paul 1990; Van der Vyver et al 1990;Targett et al 1992;Van Alstyne et al 1999), which reinforces the need for direct tests of this hypothesis (Bolser and Hay 1996;Pennings et al 2001) and suggests that factors other than predation may act as evolutionary forces on these chemicals (Schmitt et al 1995;Bolser and Hay 1996;Becerro et al 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

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

et al. 2003

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Examples from both marine and terrestrial systems have supported the hypothesis that predation is higher in tropical than in temperate habitats and that, as a consequence, tropical species have evolved more effective defenses to deter predators. Although this hypothesis was first proposed for marine sponges over 25 years ago, our study provides the first experimental test of latitudinal differences in the effectiveness of sponge chemical defenses. We collected 20 common sponge species belonging to 14 genera from tropical Guam and temperate Northeast Spanish coasts (Indo-Pacific and Mediterranean biogeographic areas) and conducted field-based feeding experiments with large and small fish predators in both geographic areas. We use the term global deterrence to describe the deterrent activity of a sponge extract against all of the predators used in our experiments and to test the hypothesis that sponges from Guam are chemically better defended than their Mediterranean counterparts. Sympatric and allopatric deterrence refer to the average deterrent activity of a sponge against sympatric or allopatric predators. All of the sponges investigated in this study showed deterrent properties against some predators. However, 35% of the sponge species were deterrent in at least one but not in all the experiments, supporting the idea that predators can respond to chemical defenses in a species-specific manner. Tropical and temperate sponges have comparable global, sympatric, and allopatric deterrence, suggesting not only that chemical defenses from tropical and temperate sponges are equally strong but also that they are equally effective against sympatric and allopatric predators. Rather than supporting geographic trends in the production of chemical defenses, our data suggest a recurrent selection for chemical defenses in sponges as a general life-history strategy.

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“…The only treatment that produced significant results was the 200% NVC lipophilic food pellets. In general, this was not unexpected since lipophilic compounds are more effective behavioral deterrents against herbivores than, for example, polyphenolics [55]. However, polyphenolics are typically produced in much higher concentrations [43,56,57].…”

Section: Hypothesis 3: Fish Will Display More Avoidance To Lipophilicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compounds from Deep-Sea Bubblegum Corals, Paragorgia arborea, Elicit Anti-Predation Behavior in Fish

Strychar¹

2011

TOMBJ

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Bubble-gum corals (Paragorgia spp.) appear to lack predators common to many other deep-sea corals. The aim of this study was to determine whether compounds from red and white colored bubble-gum coral Paragorgia arborea (Linnaeus, 1758) from different geographical locations inhibit predation or elicit different behavioral responses. We extracted secondary metabolites from red and white colonies of P. arborea, incorporating different concentrations of the compounds into feeding pellets, and offered these to pinfish Lagodon rhomboides (Linnaeus, 1766) in behavioral feeding assays. Red-colored P. arborea produced a lipophilic compound which at high concentrations stimulated defensive responses, however, lipophilic compounds from white coral colonies did not produce significant defensive behavioral responses by fish. Water-soluble and extracted sclerites elicited no behavioral effects from L. rhomboides.

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Fish feeding and chemical defenses of tropical brown algae in Western Australia

Cited by 56 publications

References 45 publications

Lack of avoidance of phenolic-rich brown algae by tropical herbivorous fishes

Lack of avoidance of phenolic-rich brown algae by tropical herbivorous fishes

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

Compounds from Deep-Sea Bubblegum Corals, Paragorgia arborea, Elicit Anti-Predation Behavior in Fish

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