Invertebrate endofauna associated with sponge and octocoral epifauna at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Georgia
by Greene, Anna Kjellin, M.S., COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON, 2008, 133 pages; 1456705

Abstract:

A study was conducted to characterize the assemblages of invertebrate endofaunal organisms that live in association with the sessile epifauna inhabiting live-bottom reefs at the Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS) off the coast of Georgia. Epifaunal hosts were collected in May 2005 from areas described previously as containing densely colonized, live-bottom habitat. A subset of 24 hosts, consisting of three individuals from each of three sponge species (Ircinia felix, Ptilocaulis walpersi, and Axinella polycapella) and five individuals from each of three octocoral species (Leptogorgia hebes, L. virgulata, and Titanideum frauenfeldii), were selected for analysis in the present study. The 24 hosts examined contained a total of 132,056 solitary and 61 colonial associates, belonging to 115 taxonomic groups. Densities of endofauna were very high as compared to endofaunal densities in other areas. An analysis of similarity indicated that the composition of endofaunal associates between the two host groups were significantly different and a cluster analysis revealed further endofaunal differences among host species and morphological types. It is clear from this study that epifaunal sponges and octocorals at GRNMS provide important habitat for abundant and diverse assemblages of associated endofauna. Also, as these assemblages appear to vary among hosts, it is apparent that a thorough characterization of these endofauna for a specific ecosystem would benefit from the analysis of multiple host species.

 
AdviserJeff Hyland
SchoolCOLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
SourceMAI/ 47-01, p. , Oct 2008
Source TypeThesis
SubjectsBiology; Ecology; Biological oceanography
Publication Number1456705
Adobe PDF Access the complete dissertation:
 

» This is an open access dissertation.
  Use the link below to access the full text PDF of this graduate work:
  http://gradworks.umi.com/1456705.pdf
  Use the link below to search and retrieve all open access dissertations:
  http://pqdtopen.proquest.com

About ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
With over 2.3 million records, the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database is the most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the world. It is the database of record for graduate research.

The database includes citations of graduate works ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester. Of the 2.3 million graduate works included in the database, ProQuest offers more than 1.9 million in full text formats. Of those, over 860,000 are available in PDF format. More than 60,000 dissertations and theses are added to the database each year.

If you have questions, please feel free to visit the ProQuest Web site - http://www.proquest.com - or call ProQuest Hotline Customer Support at 1-800-521-3042.