Special Issue "Species Interactions in Marine Benthic Communities"

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Aquatic Animals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Miriam Reverter
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Sea, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Interests: marine biology; marine ecology; coral reefs; aquaculture; chemical ecology; metabolomics; holobiont; benthic animals
Dr. Sven Rohde
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl-von-Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Schleusenstrasse 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Interests: marine ecology; chemical ecology; invasive species; symbiotic interactions; macroalgae; coral reefs
Dr. Stephanie Helber
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ecology, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Bremen, Germany
Interests: marine biology; coral reef ecology; benthic interactions; seagrass physiology; chemical ecology; anthropogenic pressures on marine ecosystems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine benthic communities harbor a high diversity of mobile and sessile animals with multiple ecological and functional roles that are in continuous interaction. Despite the crucial role of biotic interacions in driving the structure of the communities, ecosystem functioning and food web dynamics, they are often not well understood. As anthropogenic stressors in the marine environment increase (ocean warming, acidification, eutrophication, and biological invasions) these will likely affect species interactions, highlighting the need of a better understanding of biotic interactions to guide habitat conservation and potential restoration. This special issue aims to gather research (original research, reviews, technical advances or opinions) that studies marine benthic communities (tropical, temperate, deep-water ecosystems) with a focus on animals (e.g. cnidarians, sponges, ascidians, echinoderms, molluscs, etc.) and their interspecific interactions (animal-animal or animal-microorganisms). Research of interest includes but is not limited to chemical ecology studies, experimental studies on species interactions and studies on community and population dynamics. Studies on life history traits in poorly studied animal groups are also especially welcome.

Dr. Miriam Reverter
Dr. Sven Rohde
Dr. Stephanie Helber
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • benthic communities
  • biotic interactions
  • benthic animals
  • symbiotic relationships
  • community dynamics
  • inter-specific interactions
  • chemical ecology

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Communication
New Echinoderm-Crab Epibiotic Associations from the Coastal Barents Sea
Animals 2021, 11(3), 917; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030917 - 23 Mar 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 659
Abstract
During diving surveys for a Russian research project that monitored introduced species, red king crabs (Paralithodes camtschaticus) were collected at a coastal site of the Barents Sea to study the structure and dynamics of this species. Sampling of the organisms colonizing [...] Read more.
During diving surveys for a Russian research project that monitored introduced species, red king crabs (Paralithodes camtschaticus) were collected at a coastal site of the Barents Sea to study the structure and dynamics of this species. Sampling of the organisms colonizing the crabs was part of this research project. For the first time, the presence of relatively large specimens of the common starfish Asterias rubens as epibionts of P. camtschaticus was observed in July 2010, 2018, and 2019. In 2010 and 2019, we also found three other echinoderm species (the Atlantic sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa, the green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, and the brittle star Ophiura sarsii). These findings add to the current list of associated species on king crabs not only in the Barents Sea but also in native areas of this host. Red king crabs have been documented as predators for these echinoderm species, and our records show additional possible interactions between king crabs and echinoderms in this region. More likely, the epibiotic lifestyle allows these echinoderms to avoid predation from red king crabs. There are no potential disadvantages derived by red king crabs through their relationships with the echinoderm epibionts due to low occurrences of these associations. We suggest no negative effects for the local red king crab population and populations of other commercial species in the Barents Sea. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Species Interactions in Marine Benthic Communities)
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