Quaternary intensification of spine epibiosis in the cidaroid echinoid Eucidaris: implications for anthropogenic impacts
Echinoids are an integral part of present-day and ancient marine trophic webs, and they host a variety of mutualistic, commensalistic, and parasitic epibionts on their spines and test. Cidaroid echinoid (slate pencil urchins) spines in particular are commonly colonized by epizoans. Eucidaris in the...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1513138/full |
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| author | Elizabeth Petsios Corinne E. Fuchs Michal Kowalewski Paul Larson Roger W. Portell Carrie L. Tyler |
| author_facet | Elizabeth Petsios Corinne E. Fuchs Michal Kowalewski Paul Larson Roger W. Portell Carrie L. Tyler |
| author_sort | Elizabeth Petsios |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Echinoids are an integral part of present-day and ancient marine trophic webs, and they host a variety of mutualistic, commensalistic, and parasitic epibionts on their spines and test. Cidaroid echinoid (slate pencil urchins) spines in particular are commonly colonized by epizoans. Eucidaris in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific today are notable for the frequency and intensity of calcifying, non-calcifying, and galling colonization on their spines. While moderate levels of spine colonization may provide camouflage and other benefits to the host, a high density of encrusters may instead reduce host fitness, and galling is invariably parasitic. Significant environmental changes in the equatorial and sub-equatorial western Atlantic and eastern Pacific necessitate a paleobiological approach to constrain the timing of changes in epibiosis intensity on Eucidaris. Here, we compare rates of spine colonization in present-day Eucidaris populations with ancestral Pliocene Eucidaris assemblages. We find that Pliocene spines show no evidence of parasitic galling, and significantly less evidence of epibiosis than their present-day descendants in both the Atlantic and Pacific. This holds true even after accounting for taphonomic processes that would preferentially erase evidence of non-calcifying colonization. We propose that the high intensity of colonization on present-day Eucidaris spines is a relatively recent development and may reflect human-induced habitat degradation in the region, underscoring the need for further investigation into this biotic interaction. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e934975c95b04ef9ba287ca35fb28554 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-e934975c95b04ef9ba287ca35fb285542025-08-20T02:26:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452025-04-011210.3389/fmars.2025.15131381513138Quaternary intensification of spine epibiosis in the cidaroid echinoid Eucidaris: implications for anthropogenic impactsElizabeth Petsios0Corinne E. Fuchs1Michal Kowalewski2Paul Larson3Roger W. Portell4Carrie L. Tyler5Department of Geosciences, College of Arts & Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX, United StatesFlorida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, FL, United StatesFlorida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, United StatesFlorida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, FL, United StatesFlorida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Geoscience, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, United StatesEchinoids are an integral part of present-day and ancient marine trophic webs, and they host a variety of mutualistic, commensalistic, and parasitic epibionts on their spines and test. Cidaroid echinoid (slate pencil urchins) spines in particular are commonly colonized by epizoans. Eucidaris in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific today are notable for the frequency and intensity of calcifying, non-calcifying, and galling colonization on their spines. While moderate levels of spine colonization may provide camouflage and other benefits to the host, a high density of encrusters may instead reduce host fitness, and galling is invariably parasitic. Significant environmental changes in the equatorial and sub-equatorial western Atlantic and eastern Pacific necessitate a paleobiological approach to constrain the timing of changes in epibiosis intensity on Eucidaris. Here, we compare rates of spine colonization in present-day Eucidaris populations with ancestral Pliocene Eucidaris assemblages. We find that Pliocene spines show no evidence of parasitic galling, and significantly less evidence of epibiosis than their present-day descendants in both the Atlantic and Pacific. This holds true even after accounting for taphonomic processes that would preferentially erase evidence of non-calcifying colonization. We propose that the high intensity of colonization on present-day Eucidaris spines is a relatively recent development and may reflect human-induced habitat degradation in the region, underscoring the need for further investigation into this biotic interaction.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1513138/fullEchinoidsbiotic interactionconservation paleobiologyepibiosissymbiosisparasitism |
| spellingShingle | Elizabeth Petsios Corinne E. Fuchs Michal Kowalewski Paul Larson Roger W. Portell Carrie L. Tyler Quaternary intensification of spine epibiosis in the cidaroid echinoid Eucidaris: implications for anthropogenic impacts Frontiers in Marine Science Echinoids biotic interaction conservation paleobiology epibiosis symbiosis parasitism |
| title | Quaternary intensification of spine epibiosis in the cidaroid echinoid Eucidaris: implications for anthropogenic impacts |
| title_full | Quaternary intensification of spine epibiosis in the cidaroid echinoid Eucidaris: implications for anthropogenic impacts |
| title_fullStr | Quaternary intensification of spine epibiosis in the cidaroid echinoid Eucidaris: implications for anthropogenic impacts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quaternary intensification of spine epibiosis in the cidaroid echinoid Eucidaris: implications for anthropogenic impacts |
| title_short | Quaternary intensification of spine epibiosis in the cidaroid echinoid Eucidaris: implications for anthropogenic impacts |
| title_sort | quaternary intensification of spine epibiosis in the cidaroid echinoid eucidaris implications for anthropogenic impacts |
| topic | Echinoids biotic interaction conservation paleobiology epibiosis symbiosis parasitism |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1513138/full |
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