The chiton Hanleya nagelfar (Polyplacophora, Mollusca) and its association with sponges in the European Northern Atlantic

Abstract

We present data on sponge species found to serve as substrate and prey to the chiton Hanleya nagelfar in Northern Scandinavian waters and describe a recently discovered sponge–sponge–chiton association. A specimen of H. nagelfar was found to display selective feeding and homing behaviour on a massive sponge covered by an encrusting sponge. The nature of this three-fold association is discussed.

Keywords:

• Gut content
• homing
• Porifera
• Spongivory

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Acknowledgements

The sponge–sponge–chiton association that motivated us to write this research note was sampled during the Polarstern Cruise ARK XXII 1/a in June 2007. The authors want to express their gratitude to the Alfred Wegener Institute (Bremerhaven, Germany) for the invitation to participate in the cruise and to Friederike Hoffmann (Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany), who made it all possible.

Notes

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark