Short-term in situ shading effectively mitigates linear progression of coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota.

The coral-killing sponge, Terpios hoshinota is a global invasive species that has conquered coral patches within a short span of time, which has led to a significant decline in living coral cover at various geographical locations. In this study, we surveyed the linear progression and impact of the T...

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Main Authors: Thangadurai Thinesh, Ramu Meenatchi, Ramasamy Pasiyappazham, Polpass Arul Jose, Muthamizh Selvan, George Seghal Kiran, Joseph Selvin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182365&type=printable
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author Thangadurai Thinesh
Ramu Meenatchi
Ramasamy Pasiyappazham
Polpass Arul Jose
Muthamizh Selvan
George Seghal Kiran
Joseph Selvin
author_facet Thangadurai Thinesh
Ramu Meenatchi
Ramasamy Pasiyappazham
Polpass Arul Jose
Muthamizh Selvan
George Seghal Kiran
Joseph Selvin
author_sort Thangadurai Thinesh
collection DOAJ
description The coral-killing sponge, Terpios hoshinota is a global invasive species that has conquered coral patches within a short span of time, which has led to a significant decline in living coral cover at various geographical locations. In this study, we surveyed the linear progression and impact of the Terpios invasion on live coral patches along Palk Bay, Indian Ocean, from August 2013 to August 2015. The field inventory revealed an extensive fatality rate of 76% as a result of Terpios outbreak. Experimental findings showed that symbiotic cyanobacteria act as a nutritional factory for the aggressive growth of Terpios. Shading hypothetically impairs the nutritional symbiont of the invasive species: the effect of sunlight on cyanobacterial biomass and its influence on Terpios progression over live coral patches was tested through in situ shading experiments. This study showed that artificial shading with cotton fabric could effectively mitigate sponge growth on live coral without affecting coral homeostasis.
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language English
publishDate 2017-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-74afddbf55504c73962a074f5e83553d2025-08-20T02:03:47ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01128e018236510.1371/journal.pone.0182365Short-term in situ shading effectively mitigates linear progression of coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota.Thangadurai ThineshRamu MeenatchiRamasamy PasiyappazhamPolpass Arul JoseMuthamizh SelvanGeorge Seghal KiranJoseph SelvinThe coral-killing sponge, Terpios hoshinota is a global invasive species that has conquered coral patches within a short span of time, which has led to a significant decline in living coral cover at various geographical locations. In this study, we surveyed the linear progression and impact of the Terpios invasion on live coral patches along Palk Bay, Indian Ocean, from August 2013 to August 2015. The field inventory revealed an extensive fatality rate of 76% as a result of Terpios outbreak. Experimental findings showed that symbiotic cyanobacteria act as a nutritional factory for the aggressive growth of Terpios. Shading hypothetically impairs the nutritional symbiont of the invasive species: the effect of sunlight on cyanobacterial biomass and its influence on Terpios progression over live coral patches was tested through in situ shading experiments. This study showed that artificial shading with cotton fabric could effectively mitigate sponge growth on live coral without affecting coral homeostasis.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182365&type=printable
spellingShingle Thangadurai Thinesh
Ramu Meenatchi
Ramasamy Pasiyappazham
Polpass Arul Jose
Muthamizh Selvan
George Seghal Kiran
Joseph Selvin
Short-term in situ shading effectively mitigates linear progression of coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota.
PLoS ONE
title Short-term in situ shading effectively mitigates linear progression of coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota.
title_full Short-term in situ shading effectively mitigates linear progression of coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota.
title_fullStr Short-term in situ shading effectively mitigates linear progression of coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota.
title_full_unstemmed Short-term in situ shading effectively mitigates linear progression of coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota.
title_short Short-term in situ shading effectively mitigates linear progression of coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota.
title_sort short term in situ shading effectively mitigates linear progression of coral killing sponge terpios hoshinota
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182365&type=printable
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