Pelagic Sargassum morphotypes support different rafting motile epifauna communities

Martin, Lindsay; Taylor, Madalyn; Huston, Grayson; Goodwin, Deborah S.; Schell, Jeffrey M.; Siuda, Amy N. S.

doi:10.1007/s00227-021-03910-2

Cited by 47 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Here we demonstrate that the eukaryotic communities of Sargassum samples is dominated by Metazoa, with 24.8% of diversity and 69.9% of the relative abundance from tide sites, and 20.3% of diversity and 38.0% of the relative abundance for the inland storage sites. We expected that some of them correspond to the non-motile and motile epifauna species (Stoner and Greening, 1984;Martinsmith, 1994;Gestoso et al, 2012;Martin et al, 2021). Indeed, crustacea were the most abundant clade in the TS-sw and the second most abundant in the TS-sarg samples, and corresponded essentially to the class Maxillopoda.…”

Section: The Metazoa Are the Most Abundant Eukaryotes Associated To Sargassum Samplesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Over the last decade, the whole Caribbean region and the west coast of Africa have been faced with massive tides of Sargassum (Wang et al, 2019). These holopelagic macroalgae shoals contains several morphotypes, with the most common one being S. fluitans and S. natans (Parr, 1939;Schell et al, 2015;Amaral-Zettler et al, 2017;Martin et al, 2021). The large amounts of seaweed biomass washed up along coastlines has direct and indirect consequences on beaches and on the functioning of nearshore ecosystems (Van Tussenbroek et al, 2017;Cabanillas-Teran et al, 2019;Rodriguez-Martinez et al, 2019), and a massive influence on the tourist industry and local economies (i.e., the cost of removing and disposing of piledup Sargassum, the effect on housing markets, etc.).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sargassum Differentially Shapes the Microbiota Composition and Diversity at Coastal Tide Sites and Inland Storage Sites on Caribbean Islands

et al. 2021

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Rafts of drifting pelagic Sargassum that are circulating across the Atlantic Ocean are complex ecosystems composed of a large number of associated species. Upon massive stranding, they lead to various socio-environmental issues including the inflow of contaminants and human health concerns. In this study, we used metabarcoding approaches to examine the differences in both the eukaryotic- and prokaryotic-associated communities from Sargassum present in two islands of the Lesser Antilles, namely Guadeloupe and Martinique. We detected significant differences in microbial community structure and composition between landing Sargassum, the surrounding seawater, and Sargassum from inland storage sites. In total we identified 22,214 prokaryotic and 17,679 eukaryotic OTUs. Among them, functional prediction analyses revealed a number of prokaryotes that might contribute to organic matter decomposition, nitrogen cycling and gas production, including sulfate-reducing bacteria at coastal landing sites, and methanogenic archaea at inland storage sites. We also found that Metazoan was the most abundant group in Sargassum samples, with nematode clades that presented exclusive or specific richness and abundance patterns depending on their Sargassum substrate. Together, these molecular inventories of the micro- and meiofauna communities provide baseline information for further characterization of trophic interactions, algal organic matter decomposition and nutrient transfers at coastal and inland storage sites.

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Section: The Metazoa Are the Most Abundant Eukaryotes Associated To Sargassum Samplesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sargassum Differentially Shapes the Microbiota Composition and Diversity at Coastal Tide Sites and Inland Storage Sites on Caribbean Islands

et al. 2021

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“…Holopelagic Sargassum serves as critical nursery, spawning, foraging, roosting, and protective habitat for a diversity of invertebrate, fish, sea turtle, marine mammal, and seabird species ( Dooley, 1972 ; Morris & Mogelberg, 1973 ; Martin et al, 2021 ). Smaller taxa reside within the architecturally-complex branches of clumps and fragments while larger and/or migratory species are associated with patchy accumulations on a transient or long-term basis ( Moser, Auster & Bichy, 1998 ; Wells & Rooker, 2004 ; Moser & Lee, 2012 ; Martin et al, 2021 ). Aggregated mats were biodiversity hotspots near Suriname, South America, supporting significantly higher abundances of juvenile sea turtles, cetaceans, and foraging seabirds than neighboring open waters ( de Boer & Saulino, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In situ observation of holopelagic Sargassum distribution and aggregation state across the entire North Atlantic from 2011 to 2020

Goodwin

Siuda

Schell

2022

PeerJ

Self Cite

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Between 2011 and 2020, 6,790 visual observations of holopelagic Sargassum were recorded across the North Atlantic Ocean to describe regional distribution, presence, and aggregation state at hourly and 10 km scales. Influences of oceanographic region and wind/sea conditions as well as temporal trends were considered; marine megafauna associates documented the ecological value of aggregations. Holopelagic Sargassum was present in 64% of observations from the western North Atlantic. Dispersed holopelagic Sargassum fragments and clumps were found in 97% of positive observations whereas aggregated windrows (37%) and mats (1%) were less common. Most field observations noted holopelagic Sargassum in quantities below the AFAI algorithm detection limit for the MODIS sensor. Aggregation state patterns were similar across regions; windrow proportion increased with higher wind speeds. In 8 of 10 years in the Sargasso Sea holopelagic Sargassum was found in over 65% of observations. In contrast, the Tropical Atlantic and Caribbean Sea exhibited greater inter-annual variability (1–88% and 11–78% presence, respectively) that did not align with extremes in central Atlantic holopelagic Sargassum areal coverage determined from satellite observations. Megafauna association patterns varied by taxonomic group. While some study regions were impacted by holopelagic Sargassum dynamics in the equatorial Atlantic, the Sargasso Sea had consistently high presence and operated independently. Field observations capture important dynamics occurring at fine spatiotemporal scales, including transient aggregation processes and ecological value for megafauna associates, and therefore remain essential to future studies of holopelagic Sargassum.

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“…Other invasive species than Sargassum could have been considered. However, in situ sampling carried out across the Atlantic Ocean in previous studies did not reveal evidence of the occurrence of any other invasive species competitive with Sargassum [11,[20][21][22]. Thus, although it might theoretically be possible, it should not be the case here.…”

Section: Site Number K (Dimensionless)mentioning

confidence: 69%

Revisited Estimation of Moderate Resolution Sargassum Fractional Coverage Using Decametric Satellite Data (S2-MSI)

Descloitres

Minghelli

Steinmetz³

et al. 2021

Remote Sensing

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Since 2011, massive stranding of the brown algae Sargassum has regularly affected the coastal waters of the West Caribbean, Brazil and West Africa, leading to significant environmental and socio-economic impacts. The AFAI algal index (Alternative Floating Algae Index) is often used with remote sensing data in order to estimate the Sargassum coverage, and more precisely the AFAI deviation, which consists of the difference between AFAI and AFAI of the Sargassum-free background. In this study, the AFAI deviation is computed using NASA’s 1 km Terra/MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and ESA/Copernicus’s 20 m Sentinel-2/MSI (Multi Spectral Instrument) for the same sites and at the same time. Both MODIS and MSI AFAI deviations are compared to confirm the relevance of AFAI deviation technique for two very different spatial resolutions. A high coefficient of determination was found, thus confirming a satisfactory downsampling from 20 m (MSI) to 1 km (MODIS). Then, AFAI deviations are used to estimate the fractional coverage of Sargassum (noted FC). A new linear relationship between the MODIS AFAI deviation and FC is established using the dense Sargassum aggregations observed by MSI data. The AFAI deviation is proportional to FC with a factor of proportionality close to 0.08. Finally, it is shown that the factor is dependent on the Sargassum spectral reflectance, submersion or physiological state.

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Pelagic Sargassum morphotypes support different rafting motile epifauna communities

Cited by 47 publications

References 63 publications

Sargassum Differentially Shapes the Microbiota Composition and Diversity at Coastal Tide Sites and Inland Storage Sites on Caribbean Islands

Sargassum Differentially Shapes the Microbiota Composition and Diversity at Coastal Tide Sites and Inland Storage Sites on Caribbean Islands

In situ observation of holopelagic Sargassum distribution and aggregation state across the entire North Atlantic from 2011 to 2020

Revisited Estimation of Moderate Resolution Sargassum Fractional Coverage Using Decametric Satellite Data (S2-MSI)

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