The hemisessile lifestyle and feeding strategies of Iosactis vagabunda (Actiniaria, Iosactiidae), a dominant megafaunal species of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain

Durden, Jennifer M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6529-9109; Bett, Brian J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4977-9361; Ruhl, Henry A.. 2015 The hemisessile lifestyle and feeding strategies of Iosactis vagabunda (Actiniaria, Iosactiidae), a dominant megafaunal species of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain. Deep Sea Research I, 102. 72-77. 10.1016/j.dsr.2015.04.010

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Abstract/Summary

Iosactis vagabunda Riemann-Zürneck, 1997 (Actiniaria, Iosactiidae) is a small endomyarian anemone, recently quantified as the greatest contributor to megafaunal density (48%; 2372 individuals ha−1) on the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP). We used time-lapse photography to observe 18 individuals over a period of approximately 20 months at 8-h intervals, and one individual over 2 weeks at 20-mine intervals, and report observations on its burrowing activity, and both deposit and predatory feeding behaviours. We recorded the apparent subsurface movement of an individual from an abandoned burrow to a new location, and burrow creation there. Raptorial deposit feeding on settled phytodetritus particles was observed, as was predation on a polychaete 6-times the estimated biomass of the anemone. Though essentially unnoticed in prior studies of the PAP, I. vagabunda may be a key component of the benthic community, and may make a critical contribution to the carbon cycling at the PAP long-term time-series study site.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1016/j.dsr.2015.04.010
ISSN:	0967-0637
Additional Keywords:	Deep-sea; Megafauna; Actiniaria; Behaviour; Burrowing; Predation
NORA Subject Terms:	Marine Sciences
Date made live:	08 May 2015 08:41 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/510755

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