6533b856fe1ef96bd12b1da5
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Unveiling the diet of the thermophilic starfish Ophidiaster ophidianus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) combining visual observation and stable isotopes analysis
Agnetta DFabio BadalamentiChiara BonaviriPaola GianguzzaFrancesco Di Trapanisubject
0106 biological sciencesMediterranean climateSettore BIO/07 - EcologiaFacultativegeographygeography.geographical_feature_categoryEcologybiologyEcology010604 marine biology & hydrobiologyStarfishCoralline algaeAquatic Sciencebiology.organism_classification010603 evolutionary biology01 natural sciencesMediterranean seaCrustoseReefStarfish thermophilic specis feeding behaviourEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsInvertebratedescription
The starfish Ophidiaster ophidianus is an Atlanto-Mediterranean species protected under the EU’s Habitat Directive. Despite the wide distribution and the current range of expansion of this thermophilic species in the northern Mediterranean Sea, nothing is known about its diet. Using field observations and δ13C and δ15N Stable Isotopes Analysis (SIA), the feeding habits of O. ophidianus were explored in two Mediterranean rocky reef areas located in the southern Tyrrhenian (Ustica Island, Italy) and the eastern Adriatic Sea (Molunat, Croatia). According to field observations, O. ophidianus preys mainly on crustose coralline algae (CCA) and the keratose sponge Ircinia variabilis in both areas. SIA confirmed the role of CCA in the diet of O. ophidianus but not that of the sponge and highlighted a not negligible role played by other sessile invertebrates, such us small gastropods and small sedentary worms. It was concluded that O. ophidianus is a facultative herbivore in Mediterranean rocky reefs.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-06-03 |