Bryozoan Species Research Articles

Skeletal Mineralogy Patterns of Antarctic Bryozoa

AbstractBryozoans represent an extremely diversified phylum in terms of biomineralogy. The mineral composition of the bryozoan skeleton is most likely controlled by the organism itself and to some degree by the ambient environmental conditions (e.g., pH, Mg/Ca ratio, temperature). The purpose of this study is to describe the mineral composition of nearly one-quarter of all Antarctic bryozoan species known to date and to discuss, locally and in a global context, the potential factors that control mineralization in bryozoan skeletons. Collections of bryozoans were gathered by divers and with van Veen grabs (0.1 m2) from depths of 6–300 m at King George Island, Antarctica, during the summer seasons of 1985, 2007, and 2011. An x-ray diffraction analysis of the skeletons indicated that all analyzed Antarctic bryozoans (256 individuals, 71 taxa) precipitated monomineral calcite skeletons. The magnesium content ranged from 0.2 to 10.1 mol% MgCO3. Most of the studied species (76%) consisted of intermediate-magnes...

Diversity and biogeographic patterns of the bryozoan fauna of the Faroe Islands

ABSTRACTA total of 228 bryozoan species are recorded within the EEZ of the Faroe Islands, 74 of which are new to the area. Analysis of the distribution of the species among six sectors, each characterized by different environmental conditions, showed three faunal assemblages. Variation of the total Faroese bryozoan fauna and of the bryozoan fauna of most sectors, demonstrated significant negative relationships with depth. In general, analysis of the biogeographic composition showed a strong predominance of boreal over arctic species. However, with respect to faunas of each sector, the Norwegian Basin is characterized by a predominance of arctic species and may be regarded as a part of the Arctic Eurasian sub-region of the Arctic biogeographic region. Comparison of the bryozoan species of each sector with the bryozoan faunas of the other 12 areas in the North Atlantic and the neighbouring Arctic regions showed that only the Faroese shelf fauna has significant similarity with part of them, and thus can be regarded as part of the Scandinavian province of the Norwegian high-boreal sub-region of the Atlantic boreal region. Three sectors, the Faroese–Iceland Ridge, the Faroese–Shetland Channel and Norwegian Basin, belong to a transitional zone between the Atlantic Boreal and the Arctic biogeographic regions. The deep south-western sector forms a separate faunal cluster when compared with both the other sectors within the Faroese area and with the faunas of other large geographic areas, and may be regarded as a separate biogeographic zone of the Boreal Atlantic region due to its high proportion of specific species.

An assessment of bryozoan (Phylactolaemata) fauna of Kagzipura Lake, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

Freshwater Bryozoa is one of the less explored or ignored animal groups from India. Kagzipura Lake, a rainwater fed water body was surveyed for three years to understand the diversity and distribution of bryozoan fauna. The present study depicts four Phylactolaemata bryozoans species as Rumarcanella vorstmani, Plumatella casmiana, Lophopodella carteri and Swarupella divina. The manuscript provides brief descriptions of these species, photomicrographs of statoblasts using scanning electron microscopy and colony characteristics.

Bryozoa from the Mediterranean coast of Israel

The impact of global warming on the composition of marine biotas is increasing, underscoring the need for better baseline information on the species currently present in given areas. Little is known about the bryozoan fauna of Israel; the most recent publication concerning species from the Mediterranean coast was based on samples collected in the 1960s and 1970s. Since that time, not only have the species present in this region changed, but so too has our understanding of bryozoan taxonomy. Here we use samples collected during the last decade to identify 47 bryozoan species, of which 15 are first records for the Levantine basin. These include one new genus and species (Crenulatella levantinensis gen. et. sp. nov.), two new species (Licornia vieirai sp. nov. and Trematooecia mikeli sp. nov.), and two species that may be new but for which available material is inadequate for formal description (Reteporella sp. and Thalamoporella sp.). In addition, Conopeum ponticum is recorded for the first time from the Mediterranean Sea. Non-indigenous species make up almost one-quarter of the 47 species identified. All of the non-indigenous species are native to tropical and subtropical regions, implying a change of the Levant bryozoan biota from a temperate to a more tropical state, probably related to both higher temperature and salinity and to the opening of the Suez Canal connecting the Red Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Functional differentiation in bryozoan colonies: a proteomic analysis

Bryozoans are typical modular organisms. They consist of repetitive structural units, the zooids. Bryozoan colonies grow by zooidal budding, with the distribution pattern of the budding loci underlying the diversity of colony forms. Budding is usually restricted to the zooids at the periphery of the colony, which form a "growing edge" or local terminal growth zones. Non-budding parts of the colony can be functionally subdivided, too. In many species colonies consists of regular, often repetitive zones of feeding and non-feeding modules, associated with a periodical degeneration and regeneration of the polypide, retractile tentacle crown with a gut and the accompanying musculature. So, there is functional differentiation in bryozoan colonies but its mechanisms are unknown. Presumably, budding and/or polypide recycling in different colony parts are induced or inhibited by certain determinants of functional specialization. An effective tool of their identification is the comparison of proteomes of functionally different zones. Here we report the results of proteomic analysis of three bryozoan species from the White Sea, which have a different colony form: Flustrellidra hispida, Terminoflustra membranaceotruncata and Securiflustra securifrons. Using differential two-dimensional electrophoresis (2D-DIGE), we compared proteomes of the growing edge and the zones consisting of feeding and non-feeding zooids in these species. We estimated the overall proteome variability, revealed proteins whose relative abundance gradually changed along the proximal-distal colony axis and suggested that they might be involved in the functional differentiation of the colony.

Some Bryozoa species recently introduced into the Azores: reproductive strategies as a proxy for further spread

In the marine environment, control of invasive species’ population levels, that is, keeping them at an abundance level which is below a density-dependent adverse effect, may be the most attainable goal for the management of introduced bryozoans. An improved understanding of reproductive strategies and life history traits is key in order to understand the spreading potential. The assessment of the magnitude and temporal dynamics of propagule pressure from the reproducing population important for the success of control actions and needs is to be determined prior to any field intervention. The reproductive cycle of three fouling bryozoans (Bugula neritina, Tricellaria inopinata and Virididentula dentata) in the waters of the Azores Archipelago was assessed. The study revealed that although the release of larvae can occur throughout the entire year, its intensity and developmental and the attachment success of the ancestrula are not even throughout the year and that each species’ reproductive development needs to be determine independently. In the light of these findings, it is possible to determine the best time to apply field actions aimed at controlling invasive population’s density levels, optimizing the always scarce financial resources for marine management.

Systematics and diversity of deep-water Cheilostomata (Bryozoa)from Galicia Bank (NE Atlantic).

Galicia Bank is a large seamount situated c. 200 km off NW Iberia with a minimum depth of 600 m. It was recently included in Natura 2000, an EU-wide network of nature protection areas. We here present the first taxonomic descriptions of cheilostome bryozoans from this bank. The specimens were collected through the Spanish project INDEMARES (during BANGAL 0811 cruise conducted in 2011) and during two previous campaigns, the French Seamount 1 in 1987 and the German Victor Hensen in 1997). Twenty-five species were found, including 12 that are new to science, while five species remain in open nomenclature. Three new cheilostome genera (Breoganipora, Galiciapora and Placidoporella) are described. A lectotype is designated for Setosella vulnerata (Busk), and Palmicellaria tenuis Calvet is transferred to the genus Porella [as Porella tenuis (Calvet) n. comb.]. Additionally, our study shows that 48-60% of the bryozoan species are endemic to Galicia Bank. The degree of endemism of the Cheilostomata is thus the highest among all orders present on this seamount.

Why is the South Orkney Island shelf (the world's first high seas marine protected area) a carbon immobilization hotspot?

The Southern Ocean archipelago, the South Orkney Islands (SOI), became the world's first entirely high seas marine protected area (MPA) in 2010. The SOI continental shelf (~44000km(2) ), was less than half covered by grounded ice sheet during glaciations, is biologically rich and a key area of both sea surface warming and sea-ice losses. Little was known of the carbon cycle there, but recent work showed it was a very important site of carbon immobilization (net annual carbon accumulation) by benthos, one of the few demonstrable negative feedbacks to climate change. Carbon immobilization by SOI bryozoans was higher, per species, unit area and ice-free day, than anywhere-else polar. Here, we investigate why carbon immobilization has been so high at SOI, and whether this is due to high density, longevity or high annual production in six study species of bryozoans (benthic suspension feeders). We compared benthic carbon immobilization across major regions around West Antarctica with sea-ice and primary production, from remotely sensed and directly sampled sources. Lowest carbon immobilization was at the northernmost study regions (South Georgia) and southernmost Amundsen Sea. However, data standardized for age and density showed that only SOI was anomalous (high). High immobilization at SOI was due to very high annual production of bryozoans (rather than high densities or longevity), which were 2x, 3x and 5x higher than on the Bellingshausen, South Georgia and Amundsen shelves, respectively. We found that carbon immobilization correlated to the duration (but not peak or integrated biomass) of phytoplankton blooms, both in directly sampled, local scale data and across regions using remote-sensed data. The long bloom at SOI seems to drive considerable carbon immobilization, but sea-ice losses across West Antarctica mean that significant carbon sinks and negative feedbacks to climate change could also develop in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas.

Redescription of some species of Bryozoa described by J. Jullien and L. Calvet in the NE Atlantic

Five species described by Jullien and/or Calvet from the NE Atlantic are redescribed and stabilized by typification: Hippothoa amoena, Schizoporella confusa, S. jullieni, S. ovum and Smittia guernei. Three new synonymies are established: Schizoporella jullieni with Hippothoa amoena, S. ovum with Escharina alderi, and Escharella pseudopunctata with Smittia guernei. A new trypostegid genus, Pulpeirina gen. nov., is erected for H. amoena. Three new combinations are introduced.

Depth patterns in Antarctic bryozoan skeletal Mg-calcite: Can they provide an analogue for future environmental changes?

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 540:109-120 (2015) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11515 Depth patterns in Antarctic bryozoan skeletal Mg-calcite: Can they provide an analogue for future environmental changes? Blanca Figuerola1,*, Piotr Kuklinski2,3, Paul D. Taylor2 1Biodiversity Research Institute (IrBIO), Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain 2Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom 3Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 81-712 Sopot, Poland *Corresponding author: bfiguerola@gmail.com ABSTRACT: Factors related to depth have the potential to provide an analogue for future changes in the skeletal mineralogy of calcifying marine organisms and communities, given that oceanic pH decreases with depth, with a minimum pH of <7.7, which corresponds to the predicted pH of shallow waters in the next 85 yr. Antarctic bryozoans are often characterized by surprisingly broad bathymetrical ranges, and thus have potential for the study of depth-related environmental changes. This study addressed depth-related changes in the levels of magnesium (Mg)-calcite in Antarctic bryozoan skeletons for the first time in order to facilitate predictions of ocean acidification effects. Specimens (n = 103) belonging to 4 bryozoan species (3 cheilostomes and 1 cyclostome) were collected at various depths in East Antarctica (Terre Adelie and George V Land) during the CEAMARC cruise (December 2007 to January 2008), and Mg-calcite contents from their calcareous skeletons were studied using X-ray diffraction. A dataset was compiled from existing environmental data for both sampling and neighboring sites. All 4 species were found to be entirely calcitic with low or intermediate Mg-levels. The predicted negative correlation between pH and Mg-calcite was not evident. Higher Mg levels were found in Fasciculipora ramosa from the George V Basin, suggesting that high salinity shelf water creates favorable conditions for this species, although alternative environmental and biological factors influencing Mg-calcite in skeletons are also discussed for this species. KEY WORDS: Skeletal chemistry · Magnesium · Spatial patterns · Ocean acidification Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Figuerola B, Kuklinski P, Taylor PD (2015) Depth patterns in Antarctic bryozoan skeletal Mg-calcite: Can they provide an analogue for future environmental changes?. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 540:109-120. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11515 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 540. Online publication date: November 26, 2015 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2015 Inter-Research.

Why does offspring size affect performance? Integrating metabolic scaling with life-history theory.

Within species, larger offspring typically outperform smaller offspring. While the relationship between offspring size and performance is ubiquitous, the cause of this relationship remains elusive. By linking metabolic and life-history theory, we provide a general explanation for why larger offspring perform better than smaller offspring. Using high-throughput respirometry arrays, we link metabolic rate to offspring size in two species of marine bryozoan. We found that metabolism scales allometrically with offspring size in both species: while larger offspring use absolutely more energy than smaller offspring, larger offspring use proportionally less of their maternally derived energy throughout the dependent, non-feeding phase. The increased metabolic efficiency of larger offspring while dependent on maternal investment may explain offspring size effects-larger offspring reach nutritional independence (feed for themselves) with a higher proportion of energy relative to structure than smaller offspring. These findings offer a potentially universal explanation for why larger offspring tend to perform better than smaller offspring but studies on other taxa are needed.

Cheilostome Bryozoa from Penang and Langkawi, Malaysia

Twenty-three species of cheilostome bryozoans are described from the Malaysian islands of Penang and Langkawi based on a brief reconnaisance survey of shore localities. These are the first bryozoans to be formally described from either island and they demonstrate the potential for further research on these neglected suspension feeders. Of the 23 species recorded, 12 are anascans, half of which are malacostegines, and 11 are ascophorans. The new combinations Acanthodesia falsitenuis (Liu, 1992), A. perambulata (Louis &amp; Menon, 2009) and A. irregulata (Liu, 1992) are introduced. Most of the species recorded are widespread in the Indo-Pacific, and some are apparently globally distributed in the tropics and subtropics, including the invasive fouling species Bugula neritina, Hippoporina indica and Schizoporella japonica, as well as the coral reef associates Cranosina coronata and Hippopodina feegeensis. Plastic debris and glass bottles were encrusted by Jellyella eburnea, a coloniser of floating biological and man-made objects that is becoming widespread in the tropics and subtropics of the world’s oceans.

New Tournaisian bryozoans (Mississippian, Lower Carboniferous) from the Kurgan Region, Russia

New bryozoan species, Nikiforovella tobolensis sp. nov., Primorella variata sp. nov., and Sulcoretepora regularis sp. nov. are described from the Upper Tournaisian of the Kurgan Region (southwestern West Siberian Plain). These taxa belong to genera, which are widespread in the Lower Carboniferous of Eurasia and North America.

George James Allman (1812-1898): pioneer in research on Cnidaria and freshwater Bryozoa.

George James Allman (1812-1898), acclaimed for pioneering studies of Hydrozoa and Bryozoa, was born in Cork, Ireland. He earned B.A. (1839) and M.B. (1843) degrees at Trinity College, Dublin, and an M.D. (1847) from Trinity College and Oxford University. Choosing academia over medicine, he served as Professor of Botany, University of Dublin (1844-1855), and as Regius Professor of Natural History, University of Edinburgh (1855-1870). Allman initially undertook research on freshwater bryozoans, but his interests later turned to marine hydroids. His bibliography, with publication dates retraced herein, comprises more than 200 titles. Most important of these were monographs on limnic Bryozoa (1857) and "gymnoblastic" or anthoathecate Hydrozoa (1871, 1872). Other prime works were on hydroids from the Straits of Florida (1877) and from the Challenger Expedition (1883, 1888). He named 22 families, 64 genera and 283 species of Hydrozoa, along with three families and nine species of Bryozoa. Of these, names of some five families, 19 genera, and 146 species of hydrozoans, along with three families and three species of bryozoans, are currently recognized as valid. For distinguished academic service, Allman was awarded the Royal Medal (Royal Society of London, 1873), the Brisbane Prize (Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1873), the Cunningham Medal (Royal Irish Academy, 1878), the Gold Medal (Linnean Society of London, 1896), and an LL.D. from the University of Edinburgh (1873). He died 24 November 1898 in Parkstone, Dorset, England. Two genera and 22 species have been named in his honour.

Marinas may act as hubs for the spread of the pseudo-indigenous bryozoan &lt;em&gt;Amathia verticillata&lt;/em&gt; (Delle Chiaje, 1822) and its associates

The spaghetti bryozoan Amathia verticillata , formerly known as Zoobotryon verticillatum , was first described in 1822 from Naples, Italy, although this species was already present in 1807 at Cadiz, Spain. This ctenostome has long been considered a native species in the Mediterranean Sea but it has recently been suggested to be of Caribbean origin. It is most likely to have been introduced by vessels as hull fouling. This pseudo-indigenous species, i.e. a non-indigenous species (NIS) having been perceived to be native, has been found in several marinas and harbours within the Mediterranean Sea. In November 2014, this bryozoan species was abundant in the La Grande Motte marina on the south coast of France. Several thousand colonies were estimated to be present within this marina attached to the floating pontoon units that supported a floating boardwalk. Of the berthed craft examined, 31% were fouled with this species, and it was occasionally a prominent fouling species. Several macroinvertebrate species were associated with A. verticillata colonies, including some NIS, Paracerceis sculpta, Paranthura japonica and Caprella scaura , that are recorded for the first time from the Mediterranean coast of France. A. verticillata might support their transfer elsewhere by providing a habitat and substrate when attached to vessel hulls.

New data on the morphology and age of the bryozoans of the genus Onychocella from the Campanian-Maastrichtian of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

The bryozoan of the collection from the Campanian-Maastrichtian of the Pitnyak group of uplifts in Turkmenistan and the central Kyzyl Kum Desert in Uzbekistan is revised. The bryozoan species, recently identified as Onychocella spinata Favorskaja, 1980 (order Cheilostomata), are shown to belong to two species: O. spinata and O. exilis sp. nov. The new species is described, and the original description of O. spinata is complemented. The nannofossil assemblage of the sediments of the Pitnyak Uplifts enclosing O. spinata is studied, that showed Lower Campanian age of, these sediments. Thus, O. spinata should have a wider stratigraphic range of Early Campanian-Late Maastrichtian. Since no nannofossils have been recorded in the sediments of the central Kyzyl Kum Desert enclosing O. exilis sp. nov., the stratigraphic range of this species should be restricted to the Maastrichtian.

New Caledonian Triassic Bryozoa

AbstractFour trepostome bryozoan species are described from the Upper Triassic of New Caledonia. They include one new genus Metastenodiscus n. gen. The studied fauna shows strong paleobiogeographic relations to New Zealand and less so to Japan. Morphological similarities between Middle Paleozoic and Triassic trepostome bryozoans (e.g., abundant diaphragms) are explained by homeomorphy.

Prudent female allocation by modular hermaphrodites: female investment is promoted by the opportunity to outcross in cyclostome bryozoans

Many sessile, suspension-feeding marine invertebrates mate by spermcasting: aquatic sperm are spawned and gathered by conspecific individuals to fertilize eggs that are generally retained during development. In two phylogenetically distant examples, a cheilostome bryozoan and an aplousobranch ascidian, the receipt of allosperm has previously been shown to alter sex allocation by triggering female investment in eggs and brooding. Here we report experiments demonstrating that two species of cyclostome bryozoan also show restrained female investment in the absence of mating opportunity. In Tubulipora plumosa, the production of female zooids and progeny is much reduced in reproductive isolation. In Filicrisia geniculata, development of distinctive female zooids (gonozooids) begins but halts in the absence of mating opportunity, and no completed gonozooids or progeny result. Reduced female investment in the absence of a mate thus occurs in at least two orders of Bryozoa, but significant differences in detail exist and the evolutionary history within the phylum of the mechanism(s) by which female investment is initiated might be complex. The broadening taxonomic spectrum of examples where female investment appears restrained until allosperm becomes available may signify a general adaptive strategy among outcrossing modular animals, analogous to similarly adaptive sex allocation typical of many flowering plants.

Bryozoan fauna from the Mississippian (Visean) of Roque Redonde (Montagne Noire, southern France)

ABSTRACT A bryozoan fauna from the Mississippian (Visean) of Roque Redonde (Montagne Noire, southern France), contains 38 species (12 cystoporates, 2 trepostomes, 6 cryptostomes [rhabdomesines], and 18 fenestrates). Of them 9 are new: Fistulipora tolokonnikovae n. sp., Dybowskiella rotunda n. sp., Dybowskiella piriforme n. sp., Eridopora suarezi n. sp., Volgia deftera n. sp., Cystodictya gallensis n. sp., Megacanthopora enodata n. sp., Fabifenestella macrofenestrata n. sp., and Baculopora redondensis n. sp. Beside them, one new genus with a new species is established: Gorjunopora gallica n. gen., n. sp. Furthermore, 23 species characteristic of the Mississippian of Eurasia and North America were identified. The bryozoan species show various palaeobiogeographic connections. The closest connections are to the Mississippian (Visean) of the British Isles and the Russian Platform. Moreover, some connections to the Mississippian of Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Kuznets Basin, North America and Kazakhstan can be trac...

Phylogeny and diversification of bryozoans

AbstractAlthough only a small fraction of the estimated 6000 extant bryozoan species has been analysed in a molecular phylogenetic context, the resultant trees have increased our understanding of the interrelationships between major bryozoan groups, as well as between bryozoans and other metazoan phyla. Molecular systematic analyses have failed to recover theLophophorata as a monophyletic clade until recently, when phylogenomic data placed theBrachiopoda as sister to a clade formed byPhoronida + Bryozoa. Among bryozoans, classPhylactolaemata has been shown to be the sister group ofGymnolaemata + Stenolaemata, corroborating earlier anatomical inferences. Despite persistent claims, there are no unequivocal bryozoans ofCambrian age: the oldest bryozoans are stenolaemates from theTremadocian ofChina. Stenolaemates underwent a major radiation during theOrdovician, but the relationships between the six orders involved are poorly understood, mostly because the simple and plastic skeletons of stenolaemates make phylogenetic analyses difficult. Bryozoans were hard‐hit by the mass extinction/s in the latePermian and it was not until theMiddleJurassic that they began to rediversify, initially through the cyclostome stenolaemates. The most successful post‐Palaeozoic order (Cheilostomata) evolved a calcareous skeletonde novofrom a soft‐bodied ancestor in theLateJurassic, maintained a low diversity until the mid‐Cretaceous and then began to radiate explosively. A remarkable range of morphological structures in the form of highly modified zooidal polymorphs, or non‐zooidal or intrazooidal modular elements, is postulated to have evolved repeatedly in this group. Crucially, many of these structures have been linked to micropredator protection and can be interpreted as key traits linked to the diversification of cheilostomes.