TY - JOUR

T1 - Halocladius variabilis (Diptera

T2 - Chironomidae): a marine insect symbiotic with seaweeds from the White Sea, Russia

AU - Tarakhovskaya, Elena R.

AU - Garbary, David J.

PY - 2009/11/1

Y1 - 2009/11/1

N2 - The commensal (and possibly mutualistic) symbiosis between the marine chironomid, Halocladius variabilis, and brown algal epiphytes of Fucus vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum is described for the first time from Europe, based on field studies from the White Sea, Russia. While the primary host, Elachista fucicola, and the secondary host, A. nodosum, are the same as in eastern Canada where the symbiosis was first described, White Sea populations have a wider range of primary hosts that include Pylaiella littoralis and Dictyosiphon foeniculaceus. About 64% of E. fucicola thalli on A. nodosum in the low intertidal zone were colonized. Significantly lower frequencies were found on E. fucicola when the latter was epiphytic on F. vesiculosus at the same tidal height or on either secondary host when they were in the subtidal zone. For a given tidal height, or secondary host, frequency of H. variabilis was reduced on P. littoralis and further reduced on D. foeniculaceus. We suggest that subtidal populations are colonized by dispersal of larvae from the intertidal zone on to suitable substrata, and that there is limited potential for these individuals to reach the intertidal zone as adults for reproduction.

AB - The commensal (and possibly mutualistic) symbiosis between the marine chironomid, Halocladius variabilis, and brown algal epiphytes of Fucus vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum is described for the first time from Europe, based on field studies from the White Sea, Russia. While the primary host, Elachista fucicola, and the secondary host, A. nodosum, are the same as in eastern Canada where the symbiosis was first described, White Sea populations have a wider range of primary hosts that include Pylaiella littoralis and Dictyosiphon foeniculaceus. About 64% of E. fucicola thalli on A. nodosum in the low intertidal zone were colonized. Significantly lower frequencies were found on E. fucicola when the latter was epiphytic on F. vesiculosus at the same tidal height or on either secondary host when they were in the subtidal zone. For a given tidal height, or secondary host, frequency of H. variabilis was reduced on P. littoralis and further reduced on D. foeniculaceus. We suggest that subtidal populations are colonized by dispersal of larvae from the intertidal zone on to suitable substrata, and that there is limited potential for these individuals to reach the intertidal zone as adults for reproduction.

KW - Chironomidae

KW - Elachista

KW - Halocladius

KW - Marine insects

KW - White Sea

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=74149092969&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1017/S0025315409000071

DO - 10.1017/S0025315409000071

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:74149092969

VL - 89

SP - 1381

EP - 1385

JO - Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

JF - Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

SN - 0025-3154

IS - 7

ER -