Membranipora membranacea

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Membranipora membranacea
Membranipora membranacea.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Bryozoa
Class: Gymnolaemata
Order: Cheilostomatida
Family: Membraniporidae
Genus: Membranipora
Species:
M. membranacea
Binomial name
Membranipora membranacea
Linnaeus, 1767

Membranipora membranacea is a very widely distributed species of marine bryozoan known from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, usually in temperate zone environments. This bryozoan is a colonial organism characterized by a thin, mat-like encrustation, white to gray in color. It may be known colloquially as the coffin box, [1] sea-mat or lacy crust bryozoan and is often abundantly found encrusting seaweeds, particularly kelps. [2]

Contents

Distribution

Northeast Atlantic including the Baltic Sea, English Channel, Mediterranean Sea and North Sea. Also native to the North Pacific coastline of North America from Alaska to California. [3] [4] The species was first recorded on the Atlantic coastline of the U.S. in 1987 in the Gulf of Maine. [5] In Canada's Atlantic coast, it was first observed in Nova Scotia during the early 1990s, and had reached Newfoundland and Labrador by 2002. [1] It now commonly occurs along the Northwest Atlantic from Long Island Sound to northern Newfoundland, including coastal Quebec, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. [1]

Morphology and physiology

Membranipora membranacea colonies consist of individual organisms called zooids, each with a chitinous exoskeleton which is secreted by the epidermis. [6] This exoskeleton, hardened with calcium carbonate, is known as the zooecium, which not only serves to protect the internal structures of the organism, but also keeps the individual permanently attached to the substrate and neighboring zooids. [7] Zooids within a colony can communicate via pores in their interconnecting walls, through which coelomic fluid can be exchanged. [6]

The internal, living portion of the zooid is known as the polypide, whose walls are formed by the outer epidermis and inner peritoneum. [7] The lophophore, a ring of ciliated tentacles, protrudes from the polypide to feed. [8] When not feeding, the lophophore retracts into the polypide through the tentacular sheath. The lophophore is controlled by the zooid's nervous system, which consists of a ganglion at the lophophore base. This ganglion is responsible for motor and sensory impulses to and from the lophophore, as well as the epithelium and digestive tract. The lophophore retractor is the muscle which controls the movement of the lophophore. [7]

This species does not have the ovicells or avicularium seen in most other members of this phylum.[ citation needed ]

Natural history

Life cycle

Membranipora membranacea begins its life cycle as a plankton-feeding larva, triangular in shape. [6] After several weeks, the larva attach to a substrate and undergo metamorphosis. [9] The larvae typically settle on their preferred substrates in May, and then the colony undergoes growth, stasis and reproduction, shrinkage, and senescence around September, except in regions where temperature allows them to persist further into the winter. [9] The presence of conspecifics may cause a colony to stop growing and begin stasis and reproduction early. [9] The presence of predators also reduces growth of a colony.

Reproduction

Colonies of M. membranacea are protandrous sequential hermaphrodites, where colonies transition from male to female reproductive stages, allowing fertilization to occur between colonies or within colonies. [9] Fertilization takes places in the coelomic fluid of female colonies, and the eggs are released through an opening in the lophophore known as the coelomophore. [6] Reproduction or growth of the colony can also take place by budding in a radial pattern from the first established zooid, the ancestrula. [6]

Ecology

Habitat

M. membranacea prefers shallow marine habitats between the mid intertidal to the shallow sublittoral. It may also be found in brackish water. [2] It is typically found attached in colonies to seaweed, shells, or artificial substrates. [7]

Feeding

M. membranacea can eat food particles such as bacteria, flagellates, diatoms, and other small, planktonic organisms by extracting them from the water with their lophophore. [8] They can also supplement their diet with dissolved organic nutrients through the absorptive epidermis. [8]

Predation

Nudibranchs or sea slugs are the primary predators of M. membranacea. To defend themselves against these predators, the M. membranacea produce chitinous spines which protrude from the corners of the zooid. These spines make it difficult for the nudibranchs to access the polypide of the zooid. However, the energy and resources needed to produce the spines may result in decreased growth and reproduction of the colony. [10]

Ecological significance

M. membranacea on a kelp blade Membranipora membranacea 110439662.jpg
M. membranacea on a kelp blade

M. membranacea has become an invasive species in many places, and is believed to have a potentially negative impact on marine ecosystems by limiting the ability of seaweeds to reproduce, specifically by interfering with spore release from the kelp blade. The colonies of this bryozoan are also known to interrupt nutrient uptake by seaweed. [11]

M. membranacea also decreases density and size of kelp plants within kelp beds [5] by increasing tissue loss and blade breakage. [12] Additionally, M. membranacea also affects photosynthetic processes in kelp, since their encrustations may result in reduced concentrations of the primary and accessory pigments in the kelp blade tissue. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryozoa</span> Phylum of colonial aquatic invertebrates called moss animals

Bryozoa are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about 0.5 millimetres long, they have a special feeding structure called a lophophore, a "crown" of tentacles used for filter feeding. Most marine bryozoans live in tropical waters, but a few are found in oceanic trenches and polar waters. The bryozoans are classified as the marine bryozoans (Stenolaemata), freshwater bryozoans (Phylactolaemata), and mostly-marine bryozoans (Gymnolaemata), a few members of which prefer brackish water. 5,869 living species are known. At least two genera are solitary ; the rest are colonial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheilostomatida</span> Order of moss animals

Cheilostomatida, also called Cheilostomata, is an order of Bryozoa in the class Gymnolaemata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyclostomatida</span> Order of moss animals

Cyclostomatida, or cyclostomata, are an ancient order of stenolaemate bryozoans which first appeared in the Lower Ordovician. It consists of 7+ suborders, 59+ families, 373+ genera, and 666+ species. The cyclostome bryozoans were dominant in the Mesozoic; since that era, they have decreased. Currently, cyclostomes seldom constitute more than 20% of the species recorded in regional bryozoan faunas.

<i>Jellyella</i> Genus of moss animals

Jellyella is a genus of bryozoans in the family Membraniporidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phylactolaemata</span> Order of moss animals

Phylactolaemata is a class of the phylum Bryozoa whose members live only in freshwater environments. Like all bryozoans, they filter feed by means of an extensible "crown" of ciliated tentacles called a lophophore, and like nearly all bryozoans, they live in colonies, each of which consists of clones of the founding member. Unlike those of some marine bryozoans, phylactolaemate colonies consist of only one type of zooid, the feeding forms known as autozooids. These are supported by an unmineralized "exoskeleton" made of gelatinous material or protein, secreted by the zooids. The class contains only one extant order, Plumatellida.

<i>Flustra foliacea</i> Species of moss animal

Flustra foliacea is a species of bryozoans found in the northern Atlantic Ocean. It is a colonial animal that is frequently mistaken for a seaweed. Colonies begin as encrusting mats, and only produce loose fronds after their first year of growth. They may reach 20 cm (8 in) long, and smell like lemons. Its microscopic structure was examined by Robert Hooke and illustrated in his 1665 work Micrographia.

Cauloramphus disjunctus is a species of small colonial bryozoan found encrusting rocks in shallow parts of the sea near Japan. Fossils of this species have been found that date back a million years.

Amathia vidovici is a species of colonial bryozoans with a tree-like structure. It is found in shallow waters over a wide geographical range, being found in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and adjoining seas.

Amathia verticillata, commonly known as the spaghetti bryozoan, is a species of colonial bryozoans with a bush-like structure. It is found in shallow temperate and warm waters in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and has spread worldwide as a fouling organism. It is regarded as an invasive species in some countries.

<i>Conopeum seurati</i> Species of moss animal

Conopeum seurati is a species of colonial bryozoan in the order Cheilostomatida. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. This species has been introduced to New Zealand and Florida.

<i>Electra pilosa</i> Species of moss animal

Electra pilosa is a species of colonial bryozoan in the order Cheilostomatida. It is native to the northeastern and northwestern Atlantic Ocean and is also present in Australia and New Zealand.

<i>Cryptosula pallasiana</i> Species of moss animal

Cryptosula pallasiana is a species of colonial bryozoan in the order Cheilostomatida. It is native to the Atlantic Ocean where it occurs in northwestern Europe and northern Africa, and the eastern seaboard of North America. It has been accidentally introduced to the western coast of North America and to other parts of the world.

<i>Watersipora subtorquata</i> Species of moss animal

Watersipora subtorquata, commonly known as the red-rust bryozoan, is a species of colonial bryozoan in the family Watersiporidae. It is unclear from where it originated but it is now present in many warm-water coastal regions throughout the world, and has become invasive on the west coast of North America and in Australia and New Zealand.

<i>Catenicella</i> Genus of bryozoans

Catenicella is a genus of marine bryozoans belonging to the family Catenicellidae. Bryozoans are colonial animals that live in aquatic environments, and Catenicella is no exception. Members of this genus are found in oceans around the world, with a particularly high diversity in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

<i>Beania magellanica</i> Species of bryozoan

Beania magellanica is a species of colonial bryozoan in the family Beaniidae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in shallow waters in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and in Antarctica.

<i>Electra posidoniae</i> Species of bryozoan (marine moss animal)

Electra posidoniae is a species of bryozoan in the family Electridae. It is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, and is commonly known as the Neptune-grass bryozoan because it is exclusively found growing on seagrasses, usually on Neptune grass, but occasionally on eelgrass.

<i>Chorizopora brongniartii</i> Species of bryozoan (marine moss animal)

Chorizopora brongniartii is a species of bryozoan in the family Chorizoporidae. It is an encrusting bryozoan, the colonies forming spreading patches. It has a widespread distribution in tropical and temperate seas.

Bicellariella ciliata is a species of bryozoan belonging to the family Bugulidae. It is found in shallow water on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indo-Pacific region.

Walkeria uva is a species of colonial bryozoan in the order Ctenostomatida. It occurs on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Baltic Sea, in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Indo-Pacific region.

Lichenalia is an extinct genus of cystoporate bryozoan belonging to the family Rhinoporidae. It is known from the Upper Ordovician to the Middle Silurian periods, which spanned from approximately 460 to 430 million years ago. The genus had a cosmopolitan distribution, with fossil specimens found in various regions of the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Coffin Box Bryozoan". Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  2. 1 2 Barnes, R.D. (1982). Coasts and Estuaries pp 114-115. Hodder & Staughton, London.
  3. ↑ De Haas, W. and F. Knorr (1966). Marine Life pp 212-213. Burke, London.
  4. ↑ North, W.J. (1976). Underwater California pp 161. University of California Press. ISBN   0-520-03025-7
  5. 1 2 Lambert, W.J., P.S. Levin and J. Berman (1992). Changes in the structure of a New England (USA) kelp bed: the effects of an introduced species? Marine Ecology Progress Series 88:303-307.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Barnes, R.D. (1974). Invertebrate Zoology, 3rd ed. Saunders, Philadelphia, PA:695-712.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Wilmoth, J.H. (1967). Biology of invertebrata. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ:381-384.
  8. 1 2 3 De Burgh, M.E. and P.V. Fankboner (1978). A nutritional association between the bull kelp Nereocystis luetkeana and its epizooic bryozoan Membranipora membranacea. Oikos 31(1):69-72.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Harvell, C.D., H. Caswell and P. Simpson (1990). Density effects in a colonial monoculture: experimental studies with a marine bryozoan (Membranipora membranacea L.). Oecologia 82(2):227-237.
  10. ↑ Yoshioka, P.M. (1982). Predator induced polymorphism in the bryozoan Membranipora membranacea (L.). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 61(3):233-242.
  11. ↑ Saier, B. and A. S. Chapman (2004). Crusts of the alien bryozoan Membranipora membranacea can negatively impact spore output from native kelps (Laminaria longicruris). Botanica Marina 47(4): 265-271.
  12. 1 2 Hepburn, C.D., C.L. Hurd and R.D. Frew (2006). Colony structure and seasonal differences in light and nitrogen modify the impact of sessile epifauna on the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera (L.) C Agardh. Hydrobiologia 560:373-384.
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