Abstract
Recent American photographic surveys of the deep-sea floor off the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean have shown the occurrence of a sometimes large number of seagrass blades, particularly after hurricanes. Examination of considerable quantities of seagrass (mainly Thalassia testudinum Banks ex König) collected in 1973 by the Soviet R/V Akademik Kurchatov has revealed extensive utilization by deep-sea animals. Eight or nine kinds of sessile animals (including large protozoans, actinians, gastropods, and a tanaid crustacean) have used blades and/or rhizomes as a substrate. Fresh traces of gnawing activity on rhizomes and blades are abundant. A total of nine different, hitherto underscribed species were found inside Thalassia rhizomes (viz., a polychaete, an echiurid worm, a cocculinid gastropod, and six species of isopods). It is certain that at least the gastropod feeds on the marrow of the rhizomes. This is most probably also the case with the polychaete, the echiurid and one isopod species, as other specimens of these three species were found to feed on other kinds of plant material (of terrestrial origin). 45 out of a total of 55 specimens of a second isopod species were found still in situ inside rhizomes, indicating that this isopod may also utilize seagrass as a source of food. Presumably this is also the case with the remaining four isopod species, but they may just use the rhizomes as a convenient shelter.
Published Version
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