Larwood Meeting 2009
22. May - 2009
Natural History Museum
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
List of participants
Talks
Posters
Abstracts
Participants
Name
Berning, Björn
Email
b.berning@landesmuseum.at
Oberösterreichische Landesmuseen, Linz-Leonding
Name
Cáceres, Julia
Email
juliacata@gmail.com
Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna
Name
De Blauwe, Hans
Email
deblauwehans@hotmail.com
Watergang 6, 8380 Dudzele, Belgium
Name
Ernst, Andrej
Email
ae@gpi.uni-kiel.de
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Name
Gruhl, Alexander
Email
agruhl@zoosyst-berlin.de
Freie Universität Berlin
Name
Hara, Urszula
Email
uhar@pgi.gov.pl
Polish Geological Institute - Polish Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland
Name
Key, Marcus
Email
key@dickinson.edu
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia
Name
Knowles, Tanya
Email
taow@bgs.ac.uk; tanya.knowles@gmail.com
South Croydon, Surrey
Name
Kuklinski, Pjotr
Email
kuki@iopan.gda.pl
Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences
Name
Lombardi, Chiara
Email
chiara.lombardi@unipv.it
Environment Research Centre ENEA (Italy)
Participants, Larwood Meeting Oslo 2009
Page 1 of 3
Name
Milne, Rory
Email
rcwmilne@hotmail.com
NHM, London
Name
Nakrem, Hans Arne
Email
h.a.nakrem@nhm.uio.no
Naturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo
Name
Nielsen, Claus
Email
CNielsen@snm.ku.dk
Zoological Museum, Copenhagen
Name
Ostrovsky, Andrew
Email
oan_univer@yahoo.com
Geozentrum, Vienna
Name
Porter, Joanne
Email
jop@aber.ac.uk
Aberystwyth University, Wales
Name
Rosso, Antonietta
Email
rosso@unict.it
Dipartimento Scienze Geologiche Catania, Italy
Name
Schwaha, Thomas
Email
Thomas.schwaha@univie.ac.at
University of Vienna, Insitute of Zoology
Name
Sendino, Consuelo
Email
c.sendino-lara@nhm.ac.uk
Natural History Museum, London
Name
Souto Derungs, Javier
Email
javier.souto@usc.es
Dpto. Zooloxia e Antropoloxia Física. Santiago de Compostela University
Name
Spencer Jones, Mary
Email
m.spencer-jones@nhm.ac.uk
Natural History Museum, London
Participants, Larwood Meeting Oslo 2009
Page 2 of 3
Name
Taticchi, Maria Illuminata
Email
tapa@unipg.it
Università .via Elce di Sotto. Perugia
Name
Taylor, Paul D.
Email
pdt@nhm.ac.uk
Natural History Museum, London
Name
Tompsett, Scott
Email
sst06@aber.ac.uk
IBERS, Aberystwyth University
Name
Waeschenbach, Andrea
Email
A.Waeschenbach@nhm.ac.uk
Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London
Name
Wanninger, Andreas
Email
awanninger@bio.ku.dk
University of Copenhagen, Research Group for Comparative Zoology
Name
Winson, Michael
Email
mkw@aber.ac.uk
Aberystwyth University, Wales
Name
Wyse Jackson, Patrick
Email
wysjcknp@tcd.ie
Department of Geology, Trinity College, Ireland
Name
Wöss, Emmy
Email
emmy.woess@univie.ac.at
Department of Freshwater Ecology, University of Vienna
Name
Zágorsek, Kamil
Email
kamil_zagorsek@nm.cz
Dept. of Paleontology, National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic
Name
Zatoń, Michał
Email
mzaton@wnoz.us.edu.pl
University of Silesia, Faculty of Earth Sciences
Participants, Larwood Meeting Oslo 2009
Page 3 of 3
IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
Larwood Meeting Oslo, Friday 22. May 2009
08:30 Registration / coffee
09:00 Welcome
09:15 Mitogenomics in Bryozoa
Waeschenbach, A., Littlewood, D.T.J., Taylor, P.D. & Porter, J.S.
09:30 Phylogeny of Plumatellidae (Ectoprocta: Phylactolaemata): using molecules
and morphology
Wöss, E.R. & Waeschenbach, A.
09:45 Schizoporella dunkeri - investigation the phylogeography of a cosmopolitan
cheilostome
Tompsett, S., Taylor, P.D. & Porter, J.S.
10:00 Morphology of some Devonian Fenestrata
Ernst, A.
10:15 Superficial frontal calcification (‘secondary calcification’) on new bryozoans
from the Middle Miocene of Moravia (Czech Republic)
Zágorsek, K., Ostrovsky, A.N. & Vávra, N.
10:30 Enigmatic preservation of ctenostome bryozoans encrusting Late Cretaceous
baculite ammonites from the Western Interior Seaway, USA
Taylor, P.D., Wilson, M.A. & Sime, J.
10:45 Coffe break (30 minutes)
11:15 Charles Lyell’s fossil bryozoans from the Canary Islands
Sendino, C. & Taylor, P.D.
11:30 Bryozoans from coralligenous habitats from SE Sicily
Rosso, A.
11:45 Cyclostome bryozoans encrusting mobile hard substrate from the Middle
Jurassic of Poland
Zaton, M. & Taylor, P.D.
12:00 Diversity and abundance of bryozoans on settlement panels deployed off Faial
Island (Azores)
Berning, B. & Wisshak, M.
12:15 Diversity and long-term changes in the bryozoan fauna of ‘forgotten’ gravel
grounds of the southern bight of the North Sea
De Blauwe, H.
12:30 Distrubution and colony growth-pattern of the bryozoan fauna in the
Sarmatian carbonate buildups of the northern margin of the Carpathian
Foredeep: focus on the genus Cryptosula
Hara, U.
12:45 Lunch
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IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
13:45 Importance of collecting floatoblasts from the surface of the lakes
Taticchi, M. I., Battoe, L., Havens, K., Elia, A. C., Rosso, A. & Prearo, M.
14:00 Bryozoan collections from the Red Sea, Maldives and Oman: current
progress in identification
Ostrovsky, A.N., Cáceres, J. & Vávra, N.
14:15 Effect of acidification on three bryozoan species from the
Mediterranean Sea: preliminary results
Lombardi, C., Taylor, P.D. & Cocito, S.
14:30 Isotope analyses of mid-Pliocene North Atlantic fossil bryozoans and
bivalves
Knowles, T., Leng, M.J., Taylor, P.D., Williams, M. & Okamura, B.
14:45 Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Middle Miocene sediments
of the Vienna Basin and Carpathian Foredeep using stable isotopes
from single bryozoan skeletons
Key, M.M. Jr., Zágorsek, K. & Patterson, W.P.
15:00 Mineralogy of Arctic bryozoan skeletons in a global context
Kuklinski, P. & Taylor, P.D.
15:15 Coffee / posters (one hour)
16:15 Development of the bud in Cristatella mucedo
Schwaha T., Handschuh S., Redl, E. & Walzl, M.G.
16:30 Neuromuscular System of the larva of Fredericella sultana
(Phylactolaemata)
Gruhl, A.
16:45 Structure of the cyphonautes larva of the freshwater ctenostome
Hislopia malayensis from Bangkok, Thailand
Nielsen, C. & Worsaae, K.
17:00 Catastrophic events and postmetamorphic de novo formation during
myogenesis of the cheilostome gymnolaemate Triphyllozoon
mucronatum
Wanninger, A.
17:15 Association of bacteria with larvae of marine Bryozoa in coastal waters
of Wales
Porter, J.S., Moore, H.P., Brackin, A.P. & Winson, M.K.
17:30
17:45
18:00
6
IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
Larwood Meeting Oslo, Friday 22. May 2009
POSTERS
Using zooid size variation and stable isotopes in skeletal carbonate to
infer seasonality from bryozoans
Knowles, T., Leng, M.J., Taylor, P.D., Williams, M. & Okamura, B.
Bryozoan substrates in the Pliocene Coralline Crag of Suffolk: Niche
differentiation, ecological tiering and evidence for soft bodied and
aragonitic biota
Milne, R.
Bryozoans associated with deep-water corals: preliminary data from
selected Mediterranean localities
Rosso, A.
Rediscovery of the type material of Amathia semiconvoluta Lamouroux,
1824 (Bryozoa, Ctenostomata)
Souto, J., Reverter-Gil, O., & Fernández-Pulpeiro, E.
A question: can three patterns of the same species coexist in the same
biotope?
Taticchi, M.I., Pieroni, G., & Elia, A.C.
Looks can be deceptive - molecular results support ecophenotypic
variation in Schizoporella errata
Tompsett, S., Cocito, S. & Lombardi, C.
Protoretepora (De Koninck, 1878): the schizophrenic Upper Palaeozoic
fenestrate bryozoan
Wyse Jackson, P.N., Reid, C. & McKinney, F.K.
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IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
coming from the west, seem to be invasive
species.
Diversity and abundance of
bryozoans on settlement panels
deployed off Faial Island (Azores)
Diversity and long-term changes
in the bryozoan fauna of
‘forgotten’ gravel grounds of the
southern bight of the North Sea
Berning, B.1 & Wisshak, M.2
1
2
Oberösterreichische Landesmuseen,
Geowissenschaftliche Sammlungen,
Welserstr. 20, 4060 Linz-Leonding, Austria.
Email: b.berning@landesmuseum.at
GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Universität
Erlangen, Loewenichstr. 28, 91054 Erlangen,
Germany. Email: wisshak@pal.unierlangen.de
De Blauwe, H.
Watergang 6, 8380 Dudzele, Belgium.
deblauwehans@hotmail.com
Until recently, mainly coastal waters of the
Belgian part of the North Sea were investigated
for their benthic biodiversity, while offshore
areas remained poorly studied. Through an
exploration of a historical data-set dating back
to the first decade of the twentieth century
(the Gilson collection of the Royal Belgian
Institute for Natural Sciences – RBINS), the
former existence of gravel grounds not studied
since then was evidenced in gullies surrounding
the Westhinder offshore sand bank. In this
habitat, the historical samples revealed an
exceptional diversity of bryozoans and other
sessile and mobile taxa. The area was
subjected to a re-sampling survey which
confirmed the stony composition of the
seafloor and evidenced long-term changes in
the fauna compatible with the welldocumented impacts of chain-mat trawling.
Here we provide results obtained so far on the
bryozoan fauna. Long-term changes are
investigated principally on the pebbles and
cobbles, and a description of the fauna
currently colonizing loose mollusc shells is
further given.
Within a settlement-panel experiment, which
effectively aims at estimating carbonate
accretion rates in warm-temperate waters, the
hardground fauna was determined to species
level whenever possible and analysed
quantitatively. Two experimental platforms,
consisting of numerous PVC and limestone
settlement plates facing upwards and
downwards, were deployed at five stations
ranging from 0 to 500 m depth. The first
platform was recovered after one year, the
second after two years of exposure. In general,
bryozoans proved to be the most speciose
taxon settling on the panels and covered the
largest surface area of the available substrata,
whereas bivalves and serpulids accounted for
a higher carbonate accretion rate.
Some eight cyclostome and 38 cheilostome
species were recorded, which were all present
on the one-year panels already. While
bryozoans were absent from 0 m, eight species
were recorded from 500 m, 21 species from 15
m and 60 m, and 30 species from 150 m. Most
species were encrusters with patch and sheet
type colonies, while erect flexible (Cellaria,
Scrupocellaria), erect rigid robust branching
(Celleporaria, Celleporina) and fenestrate
colony types (Reteporella) also occurred. The
most abundant bryozoans covering large
surface areas were Stephanollona sp.,
Escharina vulgaris and one or two tubuliporid
species.
Most species were presumably already
described by J. Jullien and L. Calvet during the
first French zoological expeditions to the
Azores, while there are also quite a few
bryozoans that are new to science. Yet some
of the species from the 15 m station are
apparently of eastern Atlantic/Mediterranean
origin (Bugula dentata, Schizobrachiella
sanguinea, Schizoporella dunkeri; E. vulgaris)
and, due to the prevailing oceanic currents
Morphology of some Devonian
Fenestrata
Ernst, A.
Institut für Geowissenschaften der ChristianAlbrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Ludewig-Meyn-Str.
10, D-24118 Kiel, Germany. E-mail: ae@gpi.unikiel.de.
The Devonian was the time of important
changes in bryozoan faunas. During the Lower
Devonian fenestrate bryozoans started to
replace trepostomes and cystoporates in
8
IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
marine communities. Their success was caused
by quick diversification which they underwent
in this period. Especially Middle Devonian
fenestrates show high morphological diversity.
During the investigation on bryozoan faunas of
Europe, interesting morphological peculiarities
in some fenestrate taxa were found. The genus
Schischcatella Waschurova, 1964 developed
erect bifoliate fronds which are unique in
fenestrates, known rather in cryptostome and
cystoporate bryozoans. The distribution of
water currents in such colonies was completely
different than those in "normal" fenestrates.
Many fenestrate bryozoans such as Hemitrypa,
Loculipora, Isotrypa etc. developed protective
superstructures. This fact implies an apparent
presence of carnivores. Furthermore, many
fenestrates developed different structures
which can be regarded as brood chambers
due to their shape and position in the colony.
Finely, some fenestrate bryozoans developed
kind of tubes which protrude autozooecial
chamber walls in exozone. The function of
these tubes is unknown.
with an accelerated development of adult
features. Homology relationships between
larval organs in the three bryozoan subtaxa still
remain uncertain. Whereas in gymnolaemates
the apical sense organ is situated at the pole
opposite to the site of attachment,
phylactolaemate larvae settle with their apical
pole. The latter could therefore correspond
either to the apical organ or to the internal sac.
To evaluate homology hypotheses I have
investigated musculature and nervous system
in the larva of Fredericella sultana by
fluorescence staining and confocal
microscopy as well as transmission electron
microscopy. The musculature mainly consists of
adult elements, that have functions in the
polypide and persist metamorphosis. Two
independent serotonergic nervous systems are
found: one in the polypide and one in the
apical hemisphere of the ciliated body wall.
The latter exhibits a basiepithelial nerve net
with a concentration of 30-40 serotonergic cell
bodies in the region of the apical organ.
FMRFamidergic nerves are found in the entire
ciliated larval surface, but not in the polypide.
In gymnolaemates, serotonergic cells are also
present in the apical organ, but in much lower
numbers. The internal sac is usually devoid of
serotonergic cells. The pattern of serotonergic
cells in the phylactolaemate apical plate
shows similarities to larvae of Phoronida and
Brachiopoda, however a closer relationship to
these taxa is not supported by other data.
Neuromuscular System of the
larva of Fredericella sultana
(Phylactolaemata)
Gruhl, A.
Freie Universität Berlin, AG Evolution und
Systematik der Tiere, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, D14195 Berlin, Germany. agruhl@zoosystberlin.de
Distrubution and colony growthpattern of the bryozoan fauna in
the Sarmatian carbonate
buildups of the northern margin of
the Carpathian Foredeep: focus
on the genus Cryptosula
Phylactolaemate Bryozoa exhibit sexually
produced larval stages, which bear one or
more fully developed polypides. In swimming
larvae, these are covered by the mantle fold,
which is a duplicature of the ciliated body wall.
Following settlement, the polypide rudiments
evert and start feeding immediately. This is in
sharp contrast to the situation in
gymnolaemate and stenolaemate larvae, in
which almost all larval tissues are resorbed and
adult tissues formed de novo during
metamorphosis. Thus, it has been suggested
that phylactolaemate larvae are not
homologous to larvae in the remaining
bryozoan taxa, but instead represent
independently evolved “swimming
ancestrulae”. However, the presence of
transitory tissues like the ciliated body wall in
phylactolaemate larvae argues against this
view. Hence, larvae could also be homologous
but heavily altered by heterochronic evolution
Hara, U.
Polish Geological Institute – Polish Research
Institute, Rakowiecka 4, 00-975 Warsaw,
Poland
Lower Sarmatian in–situ biologically-created
carbonate accumulations from the northern
margin of the Carpathian Foredeep SE Poland
(Roztocze area) and Western Ukraine
(Medobory Ridge) provide a new data on
taxonomy, spatial distribution and colony
growth –pattern of the bryozoan fauna. The
distribution of the bryozoan bioconstructions in
9
IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
the carbonate buildups is patchy and their
constructional role as a frame-builder limited.
The most conspicuous are multilamellar,
massive colonies recognized in the northcentral part of the Medobory Ridge (western
Ukraine), composed of hundreds of laminae
and belonged to Schizoporella genus. The
diversity of the bryozoans in the Sarmatian
buildups, is low, but in comparision with the
other localities of the Central Paratethys
(Austria, Slovakia), it seems to be higher
including 17 species. The spatial distribution of
the bryozoans through the Sarmatian reefs is
mainly attributed to the occurrence of the silty
and marly facies, however, the occurrence of
the Cryptosula genus seems to be ubiquitous
and facially independent, met either in the
marly sediments, bioclastic-organodetritic
limestones as well as in the coralline-algal
reefs. Cryptosula for the first time was
described from Moldova (eastern part of the
Carpathian Foredeep) by Sinzow in 1892 as
Microporella terebrata Sinzow, 1892, forming
small incrusting colonies. Recently studied
specimens from Poland and western Ukraine,
revealed the presence of two species
Cryptosula terebrata (Sinz.) having small,
encrusting, unilamellar colonies flat-shaped or
coiled-shaped of a size up to 2-4 mm and
width of autozooids ranging from 0.40-0.45 mm
and the length of 0.65-0.75 mm. The second
morphotype of the Cryptosula from the
Sarmatian exhibits the vinculariform growth
pattern and represents the new species
Cryptosula tarnopolensis sp. nov. It shows
slightly larger length of the zooids of a size of
0.80—0.90 mm and the width of 0.45-0.50 mm.
The Recent species of Cryptosula pallasiana
(Moll), well-known along the cliffs of the southwest Wales as well as from the Sea of Azov
surviving the salinity of 12 ‰ – is one of the
most euryhaline ascophoran.
The common presence of the Cryptosula
genus in the Lower Sarmatian carbonate
buildups of the Carpathian Foredeep
undoubtedly adds a proof suggesting the
environmental changes during the Middle
Miocene (e.g. hesitation or decrease in salinity
and as well as climatic changes).
Paleoenvironmental
reconstruction of the Middle
Miocene sediments of the Vienna
Basin and Carpathian Foredeep
using stable isotopes from single
bryozoan skeletons
Key, M.M. Jr.1, Zágoršek, K.2 & Patterson, W.P.3
1
2
3
Department of Geology, P.O. Box 1773,
Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
17013-2896, U. S. A. <key@dickinson.edu>
Department of Paleontology, National
Museum, Vaclavské nam. 68, CZ-115 79
Prague 1, Czech Republic
<kamil.zagorsek@nm.cz>
Department of Geological Sciences, 114
Science Place, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon SK S7N 5E2, Canada
<bill.patterson@usask.ca>
Bryozoan skeletons are generally underutilized
as sources of stable isotope information for
paleoenvironmental reconstruction. We test
their effectiveness by comparing bryozoanderived isotope values with those from
foraminiferans and the surrounding bulk rock
matrix. The study includes 399 samples from 14
localities in the Middle Miocene (lower
Badenian, ~14.5 Ma) sediments of the Vienna
Basin and Carpathian Foredeep of the Czech
Republic, Hungary, and Austria. Individual
bryozoan colonies and forams were selected
for isotopic analysis to avoid problems of bulk
sediment sampling. From the original data, six
localities contained significantly lower δ13C (3.42‰ V-PDB) and δ18O (-3.77‰ V-PDB) values
indicating possible diagenetic alteration. All
data (n = 61) from these localities were
removed from the remaining analysis leaving
338 samples from eight localities made up of
298 bryozoan colonies, 24 matrix samples, and
16 forams.
Results are compared between the bryozoans,
forams, and bulk rock matrix. The main
difference is between localities. Two end
member localities stand out. Kroužek (n = 17)
has higher δ13C values (mean = 1.17‰ V-PDB)
and lower δ18O (-1.01‰ V-PDB) compared to
Přemyslovice (n = 12) which has lower δ13C
values (-1.79‰ V-PDB) and higher δ18O values
(0.82‰ V-PDB). Higher δ13C and lower δ18O
values are indicative of warmer surface waters
(Kroužek) compared to lower δ13C and higher
δ18O values in cooler deeper waters
(Přemyslovice). Previous paleoenvironmental
reconstructions based on forams support this
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IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
result. The other six localities fall in between
these two environments.
Using zooid size variation and
stable isotopes in skeletal
carbonate to infer seasonality
from bryozoans
Isotope analyses of Mid-Pliocene
North Atlantic fossil bryozoans
and bivalves
Knowles, T.1, Leng, M.J.1, Taylor, P.D.2, Williams,
M.3 & Okamura, B.4
Knowles, T.1, Leng, M.J.1, Taylor, P.D.2, Williams,
M.3 & Okamura, B.4
1
2
3
4
British Geological Survey, Keyworth,
Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
2 Department of Palaeontology, Natural History
Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
3 Department of Geology, University of
Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
4 Department of Zoology, Natural History
Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
1
British Geological Survey, Keyworth,
Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
Department of Palaeontology, Natural
History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
Department of Geology, University of
Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
Department of Zoology, Natural History
Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
Two independent proxies are used to infer the
annual temperature regime experienced by
nine Recent colonies of the cheilostome
bryozoan Pentapora foliacea (Eliis & Solander)
from Wales, UK. The first proxy is based on the
isotopic analysis of skeletal carbonate in the
same bryozoan colonies. It is believed that
many bryozoans secrete their carbonate
skeleton in isotopic equilibrium with seawater,
such that in warmer temperatures the
carbonate deposited has lower δ18O than in
colder temperatures. Detailed sampling along
a transect of each specimen provided a
reconstruction of seawater temperatures
experienced. The second proxy is based on the
sizes of the zooids which is inversely
proportional to the temperature at the time of
budding. Measurements of zooid area, taken
from SEM images of the colony, allow
estimation of the mean annual range of
temperature (MART) experienced by the
colony using a model developed by O’Dea
and Okamura (2000) using intracolonial zooid
size variation to infer MART for each colony.
Results from both proxies were compared with
actual seawater temperatures recorded at
18m depth by a datalogger.
It is believed that many bryozoans secrete their
carbonate skeleton in isotopic equilibrium with
seawater, such that in warmer temperatures
the carbonate deposited has lower δ18O than
in colder temperatures. Detailed sampling
along the growth direction of a colony can
therefore provide a reconstruction of seawater
temperatures experienced. Bryozoans can be
particularly useful for this type of analysis but
there are a number of pitfalls that must be
avoided for results obtained to be considered
reliable. Bryozoans and bivalves from the UK,
Virginia and Florida (USA) were investigated for
evidence of diagenetic alteration using
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and
Cathodoluminescence (CL). Results of
experiments into the best methods for sample
preparation are discussed. Reconstructed
temperatures from 18O isotope results show a
large amount of variation, much of which is
attributed to pervasive meteoric cement. In
many situations this suggests that any material
that has undergone diagenetic alteration
should be rigorously investigated before use in
isotopic analysis.
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IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
Mineralogy of Arctic bryozoan
skeletons in a global context
Current projections on ocean acidification
caused by increasing CO2 emissions reveal a
further pH reduction in the upper ocean layers
of 0.3 to 0.5 units by (or before) 2100, with a
continued decrease in the availability of
carbonate ions and a lowering of the
saturation state of the ocean with respect to
the major biogenic carbonate minerals calcite
and aragonite. There is clear evidence that
calcifying organisms are affected by changes
in carbonate saturation state showing, for
example, reduction in calcification rate and
increase in dissolution rate. Because of their
importance as calcifying and bioconstructional
organisms, bryozoans are likely to be strongly
affected by increasing pCO2 and may also
have potential as bioindicators of changes in
pCO2 conditions. We present results of
experiments performed at the volcanic site of
Ischia (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) where water
enriched with CO2 provides an opportunity to
test, for the first time, the effect of acidification
on three Mediterranean bryozoan species.
Live and dead colonies of Myriapora truncata,
Calpensia nobilis and Schizoprella errata,
collected locally, were transplanted into
habitats experiencing normal (pH 8.1), severe
(pH 7.66) and extremely high-CO2 conditions
(pH 7.43), outside and near volcanic CO2 vents.
Rates of calcification plus dissolution (live
colonies) and dissolution (dead colonies) were
calculated for M. truncata. Morphological,
mineralogical and geochemical investigations
were undertaken on live and dead fragments
of all three bryozoan species after one and four
months of exposure to different pH conditions.
Calcification plus dissolution rates in M.
truncata varied in relation to time of exposure
and pH level. After one month of exposure
under extreme hypercapnic conditions
skeletons of dead colonies were drastically
dissolved; calcification plus dissolution rates
recorded for live colonies were significantly
lower than under normal conditions, although
positive. These observations suggest a
protective role of the zooidal soft tissues
enclosing the exterior calcified walls. However,
when this species was exposed to the
combined effect of high pCO2 and elevated
temperatures, as recorded during four summer
months, calcification collapsed, revealing a
strong effect of thermal stress. Corrosion of
skeletal structures and reduction of
mol%MgCO3 within the skeleton were also
observed.
C. nobilis died after one month of exposure to
extreme hypercapnic conditions. On the other
hand, after four months of exposure to severe
hypercapnic conditions new budding sites
Kuklinski, P.1 & Taylor, P.D.2,
Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of
Sciences, ul.Powstancow Warszawy 55, Sopot
81-712, POLAND
2 Department of Palaeontology, Natural History
Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
1
Bryozoans are major carbonate-producers in
some ancient and Recent benthic
environments, including parts of the Arctic
Ocean.
Seventy-six species of bryozoans from within the
Arctic Circle have been studied using XRD to
determine their carbonate mineralogies and
the Mg contents of the calcite. The majority of
species were found to be calcitic, only four
having bimineralic skeletons that combined
calcite and aragonite, and none being entirely
aragonitic. In almost all species the calcite was
of the low- (<4 Mol% MgCO3) or intermediateMg (4-11.99 Mol% MgCO3) varieties. Previous
regional studies of bryozoan biomineralogy
have found higher proportions of bimineralic
and/or aragonitic species in New Zealand and
the Mediterranean, with a greater number of
calcitic species employing intermediate- and
high-Mg calcite.
The Antarctic bryozoan fauna, however, has a
similar mineralogical composition to the Arctic.
The lesser solubility of low-Mg calcite
compared to both Mg calcite and aragonite in
cold polar waters is most likely responsible for
this latitudinal pattern. However, it is unknown
to what extent environmental factors drive the
pattern directly through eliciting an
ecophenotypic response from the bryozoans
concerned or the pattern reflects genetic
adaptations by particular bryozoan clades.
Effects of acidification on three
calcareous bryozoan species
from the Mediterranean Sea:
preliminary results
Lombardi, C.1, Taylor, P.D. 2, & Cocito, S.1
1
2
Environmental Research Centre ENEA, P.O.
Box 224, 19100 La Spezia, Italy
Department of Palaeontology, Natural
History Museum, London, Cromwell Road,
London SW7 5BD, UK
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IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
were evident. Even if severe hypercapnic
conditions did not strongly affect living
colonies, prolonged time of exposure
apparently stimulated the growth of new
zooids with aberrant skeletons. Surprisingly,
aragonite levels did not vary between the
control and colonies subjected to severely
hypercapnic conditions after four months of
exposure, whereas mol%MgCO3 did vary
significantly.
S. errata colonies exposed to extreme and
severe hypercapnic conditions showed similar
morphological changes. This could be due to
the mainly aragonitic skeleton with high mol%
MgCO3, being more susceptible to increasing
pCO2 than calcite and low and intermediate
mol% MgCO3.
Structure of the cyphonautes
larva of the freshwater
ctenostome Hislopia malayensis
from Bangkok, Thailand
Nielsen, C.1 & Worsaae, K.2
1
2
Zoologisk Museum (University of
Copenhagen), Universitetsparken 15, DK2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
cnielsen@snm.ku.dk
Marine Biological Laboratory (University of
Copenhagen), Strandpromenaden 5, DK3000 Helsingør, Denmark
kworsaae@bio.ku.dk
The cyphonautes larvae of the cheilostomes
Membranipora and Electra are well known
through studies using LM, SEM, TEM and
immunocytochemistry. Also a number of
ctenostomes have been reported to have
cyphonautes larvae, but the descriptions are
restricted to studies of live and fixed larvae by
ordinary light microscopy, and the most
detailed study is more than a century old. The
larva of the ctenostome Hislopia malayensis is
abundant in a pond at the Kasetsart University
in Bangkok, Thailand, and this larva has been
collected for more detailed studies using LM,
SEM and immunocytochemistry.
The larva is much smaller than those of the
cheilostomes, but its structure is generally the
same, with most differences probably being
due to the small size. The only remarkable
difference is that the ciliated ridge has no
frontal cilia, i.e. it has the same structure as a
“half-tentacle” of an adult cyclostome.
This is in good accordance with the idea of
cyphonautes being the ancestral larval type of
the eurystomes, and with the idea that the
cheilostomes are in fact an ingroup of the
ctenostomes.
Bryozoan substrates in the
Pliocene Coralline Crag of Suffolk:
Niche differentiation, ecological
tiering and evidence for soft
bodied and aragonitic biota
Milne, R.
Department of Palaeontology, Natural History
Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
Questions:
1) Identify substrates used by large erect
bryozoa from the Coralline Crag of Suffolk.
2) Did different bryozoa species use different
substrates? Is there any preference for living or
dead substrates?
3) What evidence does this provide about
aragonitic and soft bodied fauna living in the
Coralline Crag sea? Substrate bioimmuration?
4) Does substrate type provide evidence for
ecological tiering?
5) Does the substrate affect subsequent growth
of the bryozoan?
Resources:
Field collection of specimens.
Museum collection.
Literature.
Suitable species:
Pentapora pertusa and lacryma
Biflustra savartii
Metrarabdotos moniliferum
Celleporids
Hornerids
Hippopleurifera sedgwickii
Goodonia cookae
Phidoloporids
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IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
than 30 bryozoan families and 40 genera are
preliminary identified. Further study and species
identification are in progress using scanning
electron microscopy (SEM).
Bryozoan collections from the
Red Sea, Maldives and Oman:
current progress in identification
Ostrovsky, A.N. 1,2, Cáceres, J. 2 & Vávra, N. 2
1
2
Association of bacteria with
larvae of marine Bryozoa in
coastal waters of Wales
Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Faculty
of Biology & Soil Science, St. Petersburg State
University, Universitetskaja nab. 7/9, 199034,
St. Petersburg, Russia
Department of Palaeontology, Geozentrum,
University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090,
Wien, Austria
Porter, J.S., Moore, H.P., Brackin, A.P. & Winson,
M.K.
Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural
Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Edward Llwyd
Building, Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth, SY23
3DA
email: mkw@aber.ac.uk
Three large collections of the Recent tropical
bryozoans are kept in the Department of
Palaeontology, University of Vienna.
The largest collection is from the North Red Sea
(Safaga Bay). It was made during 1980-90th by
the stuff and students of the Institute of
Palaeontology, University of Vienna, by taking
sediment samples and SCUBA. At the moment
110 species belonging to 42 bryozoan families
and 69 genera were identified. It is a most
diverse collection from the Red Sea ever
known. A number of taxa have been recorded
for the first time in this sea and a few species
are obviously new.
Collection of the bryozoans from the Maldive
Islands consists of three parts. The first one has
been collected by Professor F. Steininger in
Helengeli Island in 1983 (north Male Atoll). The
second part has been collected by A.
Ostrovsky near Kuramathi Island in 2005, and
the third – near Vabbinfaru and Angsana
Islands in 2008 (all North Male Atoll). In 2005 5
samples containig more than 100 specimens of
bryozoans were collected on the 10-32 meters
depth by SCUBA. In 2008 six samples with more
than 200 specimens of bryozoans were
collected on the 5-37 meters depth. These
collections have been partially sorted and
identified. At the moment representatives of
more than 30 bryozoan families and more than
40 genera were preliminary identified.
Field work in both northern and southern parts
of the Sultanate of Oman (in co-operation with
the Sultan Qaboos University and Ministry of
Fisheries of Oman) was undertaken using
SCUBA-diving. Altogether 10 samples and more
than 400 specimens of bryozoans were
collected on the 5-14 meters depth. Living
colonies were photographed to document
pigmentation. Collected samples were partially
fixed in 70% alcohol and Bouin’s fluid for
anatomical research on reproductive patterns,
and dried for the study under the SEM. At the
moment about 70 species belonging to more
Studies have revealed that colonies of marine
Bryozoa are capable of hosting a wide range
of micro-organisms. In the case of Bugula
neritina, the uncultured Endobugula sertula
bacterial species produces bryostatins that
render spawned larvae unpalatable to fish
predators. Identification of symbiotic
associations in other species of Bryozoa may
lead to discovery of novel bioactive
compounds with ecological roles. However, as
yet very little is known about the diversity of
culturable and uncultured bacteria associated
with Bryozoa and their larvae.
In our study four species of Bryozoa were
collected from intertidal sites on the coast of
Wales and larvae were isolated from gravid
colonies. In order to isolate the bacteria cells
specifically associated with larvae, the larvae
were washed extensively to remove
unassociated bacterial cells and plated on a
marine nutrient agar. Bacterial colonies from
larvae and washes were subcultured and their
phenotypic characteristics recorded. 16SrDNA
was PCR-amplified from these isolates and from
DNA extracts of the washed larvae and cloned
using the Invitrogen TOPO TA cloning kit.
Nucleotide sequence analysis of the 16SrDNA
region of 40 culturable bacterial isolates and 25
cloned sequences from washed larvae of the
ctenostome Alcyonidium hirsutum revealed
distinct bacterial populations as judged from
sequence identity comparisons. This suggests
that there is a significant proportion of
unculturable bacterial cells in the bacterial
community associated with larvae of A.
hirsutum. Microbiological analysis of the
culturable bacterial community also indicated
differences in the phenotypic characteristics of
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IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
the culturable bacteria including production of
compounds with antibiotic properties.
Taking into account only taxa with bathyal or
deep shelf-to-bathyal distributions, it appears
that species of the genera Tervia,
Entalophoroecia and Idmidronea together with
Copidozoum exiguum, Smittina crystallina,
Tessaradoma boreale, Reteporella sparteli, and
Herentia hyndmanni, have been and largely
are ubiquitous in the Mediterranean depths.
Other species, i.e. Palmiskenea skenei,
Palmicellaria elegans, Neolagenipora eximia,
Schizoporella neptuni, Schizomavella linearis
profunda and S. fischieri, which are widespread
in western Mediterranean sites, seem excluded
from the eastern part of the basin. Finally, a
group of species, only found in the Ionian-Sicily
Straits area, includes both living taxa with an
Atlantic-Mediterranean distribution (Setosella
folini) and, mostly, taxa with Recent Atlantic
distributions, which lived in the Mediterranean
during the Pleistocene, such as Scrupocellaria
jullieni and Sertulipora guttata. Finally, the
finding of living specimens of Gemellipora sp. in
the same area, is noteworthy.
Observed differences in abundance and
biodiversity could be partly related to the
different situations sampled including living and
Pleistocene fossil material (Ionian sea) but
mostly old-looking coral rubble from the
Karpatos area and the Balearic Sea.
Noteworthy, the bryozoan biodiversity
registered for this latter area is lower than that
recorded in canyons from the Cassidaigne
(Zabala et al., 1993) from where some 35
species have been reported as epibionts on
living and dead bathyal corals. Such
differences are seemingly due to the different
environmental contexts and ages of the
examined materials.
Further studies are needed and the on-going
project aims at establishing a complete
inventory of the bryozoans associated with
deep water corals in the Mediteraraean from
the Pleistocene to the Recent, thus permitting
a more refined understanding of the overall
biodiversity of deep water coral habitats and
their dynamic response to biogeographic,
evolutionary, climatic and oceanographic
changes underwent by this basin.
M. Taviani (ISMAR-CNR, Bologna, Italy), A.
Vertino and S. Cavaleri (Geological
Department, University of Catania, Italy) are
kindly acknowledged for making available part
of the materials and for helping in bryozoan
selection, respectively.
Reference:
Zabala M., Maluquer P., Harmelin J.-G. 1993.
Epibiotic bryozoans on deep-water
scleractinian corals from the Catalonia slope
(western Mediterranean, Spain, France).
Scientia Marina 57: 65–78.
Bryozoans associated with deepwater corals: preliminary data
from selected Mediterranean
localities
Rosso, A.
Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Sezione di
Oceanologia e Paleoecologia
Corso Italia, 57 – 95129 Catania (Italy) –
rosso@unict.it
Deep-water recent and fossil coral
assemblages along a geographical gradient
from Mediterranean sites have been inspected
for their associated bryozoans. The dataset
consists of several bottom samples collected in
the frame of the APLABES FIRB project and the
EU Hermes and other related deep water coral
projects by ISMAR-CNR. Materials come from
the Balearic Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Sicily
Straits, the Southern Adriatic Sea and the NW
(Apulian plateau) and the E Ionian Sea
(Karpatos). The depth range of examined
corals is 450 to 750 m, except for bryozoans
originating from less than 200 m deep
Lophelia/Madrepora mounds from the mid
Adriatic. Samples include living coral colonies
from top-mound settings, coral rubble, usually
coated with Fe-Mg oxides due to long-lasting
exposition at bottom surface, and fossil
Würmian corals, often well preserved as
suddenly buried beneath some centimetrethick sediment cover.
A preliminary evaluation of the bryozoan
species associated with Lophelia, Madrepora,
Desmophyllum corals and coral hardgrounds
reveals some consistent patterns. Overall,
bryozoans appear present in order of
decreasing abundance from western to
eastern Mediterranean. Nevertheless, diversity
shows a different pattern with the highest
values in the Ionian Sea (Santa Maria di Leuca,
Apulia and the Sicily Straits, near Malta, scoring
about 30 species each), followed by western
locations (Balearic Sea and the Tyrrhenian,
offshore the Tuscan Archipelago, each with 19
species), and finally by the E Ionian Sea (only
11 species). In southern Adriatic only three
species have been found among those usually
associated with corals. In contrast, deep shelf
to bathyal species are more common in these
coral assemblages, which presumably lived in
very shallow waters.
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IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
spp., Plagioecia spp., Copidozoum spp.,
Puellina spp., Hippothoa flagellum, which grow
as small-sized patches, or uni-pauciserial
running nets. Rare erect rigid colonies of
Mecynoecia delicatula and Reteporella spp.
colonize larger cavities. Finally, some species
(C. boryi, Scrupocellaria spp., and Cellaria
salicornioides) act as bafflers.
Observed differences in abundance and
composition of the bryozoan communities
appear positively related with the presence,
quantity and dimensions of cavities within the
algal frame, whose growth architecture is, in
turn, forced by environmental parameters,
mostly bottom current energy and persistence.
Nearly all species were already known from
Mediterranean coralligenous habitats, but the
reported bryodiversity is lower than that known
for the Mediterranean as a whole (115 species
reported by Gautier, 1962 and 130 by Harmelin,
1976) and, particularly, for the Medes Islands
only (171 taxa: see Ballesteros, 2006).
Nevertheless, bryodiversity values are
comparable (BC sample) or high (LC sample)
relative to those of 5-15 species found in 6-12
dm3 of coralligenous concretions in single
stations from slightly shallower bottoms (and
the total bryozoan diversity reaching 67
species) reported from the NW Mediterranean
(Laubier, 1966).
References:
Ballesteros, E. 2006. Mediterranean
coralligenous assemblages: a synthesis of
present knowledge. Oceanogr. & Mar. Biol.
Ann. Rev., 44: 123-195.
Gautier, Y.V. 1962. Recherches écologiques sur
les Bryozoaires chilostomes en
Méditerranée occidentale. Rec. Trav. Stat.
Mar. Endoume, 38 (24): 1-434.
Harmelin, J.-G 1976. Le sous-ordre des
Tubuliporina (Bryozoaires Cyclostomes) en
Méditerranée. Écologie et systématique.
Mém. Inst. Océanogr., 10: 1-326.
Laubier, L. 1966. Le coralligène des Albères:
monographie biocénotique. Ann. Inst.
Oceanogr. Monaco, 43: 137-316.
Bryozoans from coralligenous
habitats from SE Sicily
Rosso, A.
Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Sezione di
Oceanologia e Paleoecologia
Corso Italia, 57 – 95129 Catania (Italy) –
rosso@unict.it
Because of their general need for hardsubstrata to settle and grow and their
preference for shadowed, sheltered habitats,
bryozoans, with their mineralised skeletons, are
among the main constituents of the
Coralligenous Biocoenosis in the
Mediterranean.
For analysing the role of bryozoans in the
classical algae-dominated coralligenous
assemblages, a columnar build-up, 60 cm high
and 20 cm in diameter, from 30m depth (CB)
and some (9 dm3) algal fragments or lace
coralline concretions(LC) sampled between 35
and 55m depth in the same area (Noto Gulf, SE
Sicily), were examined. The build-up results
mostly from the superimposition of densely
packed algal laminae only locally passing to
fruticulose growing, involving the formation of
cryptic microhabitats. By contrast, fragments
mostly consist of a loose structure of spaced
algal laminae locally intergrowing with
bryozoans, serpuloideans and rare vermetids,
including large cavities.
The CB sample includes 9 bryozoan species,
represented by less than 30 colonies. No
species actually contribute to the frame
construction, but some are involved as binders
(Onychocella marioni, Reptadeonella violacea
and Escharina), dwellers (Annectocyma
mayor, small Myriapora tyruncata colonies) or
bafflers (Caberea boryi, Scrupocellaria delilii),
within cavities.
In the smaller LC sample, 60 living species and
more than 200 colonies are present, whose
distribution exhibits a strong patchiness within
and among fragments. A few taxa, i. e.
Rhynchozoon spp., R. violacea and
Stephanollona armata act as secondary
frame-builders. In contrast, binders include
several species among which
Plesiocleidochasma mediterraneum,
Gregarinidra gregaria, O. marioni, Escharoides
coccinea, Micropora coriacea, Watersipora
complanata, Diplosolen obelium,
Crassimarginatella maderensis and
Hippomenella mucronelliformis, which form
sheet-like colonies coating algal laminae and
the inner surfaces of cavities. Dwellers are
common with Annectocyma spp., Disporella
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IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
Development of the bud in
Cristatella mucedo
Charles Lyell’s fossil bryozoans
from the Canary Islands
Schwaha T.1, Handschuh S.2, Redl E.3 & M.G.
Walzl1
Sendino, C. & Taylor, P.D.
1
2
3
Department of Palaeontology, Natural History
Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
University of Vienna, Faculty of Life Sciences,
Dept. of theoretical Biology, Morphology
Section, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna
(Austria).
University of Vienna, Faculty of Life Sciences,
Dept. of theoretical Biology, Althanstraße 14,
1090 Vienna (Austria).
University of Vienna, Faculty of Life Sciences,
Dept. of Evolutionary Biology, Emerging
Focus: Molecular Phylogenetics,
Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna (Austria).
The eminent British geologist Sir Charles Lyell
(1797-1875), whose uniformitarian principles
greatly influenced Charles Darwin, took an
interest in the geology of the Canary Islands
because of the relevance of their geology to
his theories about the growth of volcanoes. He
visited the Canaries during 1854, guided
around Gran Canaria by the Spanish engineer
Pedro Maffiotte. During this time he collected
fossil bryozoans from a raised beach at Santa
Catalina near Las Palmas. Maffiotte later
posted further material to Lyell. These
collections are now kept at the Natural History
Museum in London. Initially submitted to William
Lonsdale for determination, the bryozoans
were subsequently sent to George Busk. Lyell
thought that these fossils were almost all of
extinct species, probably of Miocene age and
comparable to bryozoans from the Faluns de
Touraine of France. In a letter to C.J.F. Bunbury,
Lyell wrote: ‘Of my four species of Bryozoa from
the Grand Canary, one is recent and three
unknown, so says the first-rate authority, Mr.
Busk. I imagine the age may be Miocene or
falunian; but this is a mere guess as yet.’
Lonsdale wrote extensive notes on the
bryozoans, identifying the Gran Canaria
bryozoans still present in the NHM collections as
Cellepora spp. and Eschara. Most of the
supposed Cellepora fragments probably
belong to Omalosecosa, whereas others are
heteroporid cyclostomes. The Eschara
specimens are Metrarabdotos helveticum
canariense Cheetham, 1968. Restudy of these
historically important bryozoans and the
associated bibliographical data is in progress.
Asexual reproduction by budding is the
essential step in colony growth and zooid
renewal in bryozoans. Budding patterns and
colony development are well documented for
several bryozoan classes, but data on
organogenesis of the individual zooid remain
scarce for all classes. For comparative
approaches among bryozoans and
comparisons to other lophotrochozoan phyla,
we analyzed the development of organ
systems during the budding process of the
phylactolaemate freshwater bryozoan
Cristatella mucedo. Based on ribboned serial
sections the differentiation and formation of
the nervous system, digestive tract, lophophore
and coelomic cavities are shown by means of
3D reconstructions of different developmental
stages of the bud. Buds originate at the colony
wall at the margin towards the gliding sole of
the colony and start as an invagination of the
epidermal and surrounding peritoneal layer.
The inner layer forms the nervous system,
digestive tract and parts of the lophophore.
We confirm previous studies, which postulated
that the ganglion develops by invagination.
Musculature is derived from the peritoneal
layer. Retractor muscles connecting the bud to
the colony wall appear first. The peritoneal
lining differentiates orally into a ring canal,
while the remaining lophophoral coelom
restricts its connection to the trunk coelom to
two heavily ciliated forked canals. The
epistomial cavity develops from the trunk
coelom and protrudes medially over the
ganglion. It remains confluent with the
remaining coelom and therefore is not a
separate coelomic cavity. This formation of the
zooid only shows superficial resemblances to
entoproct budding and is probably due to
convergent evolution.
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IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
another had floatoblasts smaller with nodules
evidencing the dorsal fenestra reticulum; a
third had no nodules at all. Nevertheless the
suture and the gas-chamber pores were very
resembling for all three types. Moreover, the
septa of the tubules were seldom present in the
first type, always present in the second type
and never present in the third type. Currently, it
is difficult to assess if the three patterns belong
to the same species and therefore, molecular
analysis performed on the three types of
Plumatella repens might solve the question.
Rediscovery of the type material
of Amathia semiconvoluta
Lamouroux, 1824 (Bryozoa,
Ctenostomata)
Souto, J., Reverter-Gil, O., & FernándezPulpeiro, E.
Dpto. de Zooloxia e Antropoloxía Física.
Facultad de Bioloxía. Universidad de Santiago
de Compostela. Spain
The Lamouroux’s collection, originally held at
Caen, was believed to be destroyed during the
bombardment of this village during the Second
World War (d’Hondt in Chimonides, 1987).
However, the material was preserved in the
Botanic Garden of Caen, which was not
affected by the bombardment, and was
saved for destruction. At present, the
Lamouroux’s herbarium is stored in the Muséum
National d’Historie Naturelle, Paris. D’Hondt
(1991) located this material and he also found
two packets with colonies of Amathia
semiconvoluta Lamouroux 1824, which might
be the type of the species.
In this poster, we consider that this material
actually corresponds to the original material
used by Lamouroux in his original description of
A. semiconvoluta, so a Lectotype is selected.
Moreover, the species is re-described using the
original material, other colonies held in different
institutions, and material recently collected in
the Iberian Peninsula.
Importance of collecting
floatoblasts from the surface of
the lakes
Taticchi, M. I.1, Battoe, L.2, Havens, K.3, Elia, A.
C.1, Rosso, A.4 & Prearo, M.5
1
2
3
4
5
Generally, the method to collect freshwater
Bryozoa is to inspect any natural or artificial
object submerged in lake or river water up to
about three meters of depth. When it is not
possible to reach the probable substrates for
colonization by foot or boat, we must limit to
collect the floating statoblasts on water surface
with a Bryozoa large mesh net towed from a
moving boat. This collecting method allows us
to know the freshwater bryozoan fauna
composition even when only one sampling is
carried out and when Bryozoa are not present
as vegetative stadium. This method was used
to study for the first time the freshwater Bryozoa
distribution of Center-South Florida.. This was
also the method used for studying the
bryozoan fauna of some Sicilian barrage lakes,
where the inspection of the freshwater weed
stems, buoys, leaves and other floating
surfaces often did not lead to find colonies.
Nine species were found in Florida (Pectinatella
magnifica, Plumatella bushnelli, P. casmiana,
P.repens, P. reticulata P. vaihiriae, P.sp1F
(probably P. geimermassardi), P.sp2F, P.sp3F
A question: can three patterns of
the same species coexist in the
same biotope?
Taticchi, M.I.1, Pieroni, G. 2, & Elia, A.C.1
1
2
Department of Cellular and Environmental
Biology University of Perugia, Perugia 06100,
Italy; tapa@unipg.it
Environmental Sciences Division, St. Johns
River Water Management District, Palatka,
FL 32178-1429
Florida Sea Grant College Program;
University of Florida; 110400 Gainesville, FL
32611-0400
Department of Geological Science,
University of Catania, 95029 Catania
State Veterinary Institute, Torino 10010, Italy
Department of Cellular and Environmental
Biology University of Perugia, Perugia 06100,
Italy; tapa@unipg.it
Department of Environmental Science,
University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
Colonies of freshwater Bryozoa were collected
from the site of Lake Piediluco (Umbria) on July
2004 and 2005. The species was identified as
Plumatella repens. However, the
morphological analysis of statoblasts showed
some differences among samples: one resulted
to be a true P. repens, according the
description of Geimer and Massard (1968);
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IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
(probably P. vorstmani) and eight in Sicily
(Plumatella casmiana, P. fungosa, P. repens, P.
reticulata, P. rugosa, P. viganoi, P.sp1S, P.sp2S).
The two sampling methods integrate the
knowledge. Moreover the surface sampling
allows us to address our efforts to the biotopes
more rich in floatoblasts with substantial savings
in terms of time, effort and money. It would be
useful to make more samplings to verify if the
infrequent floatoblasts found were certainly
produced in loco or if they have been
introduced by vectors, such as migratory birds,
fish and boats.
that subsequently filled the body chambers
after death. Previously assumed to have been
pyriporid cheilostomes, SEM studies show that
these bryozoans are in fact ctenostomes. This is
evident not only from the lack of a calcareous
skeleton, but more importantly the presence of
zooids with setigerous collars. It is unclear how
such soft-bodied, non-boring ctenostomes
came to be preserved in this way as they are
not bioimmurations formed by organic
overgrowth. Possibly early infilling of the
baculite body chambers and rapid growth of
authigenic minerals preserved the ctenostomes
through a process of lithoimmuration.
Enigmatic preservation of
ctenostome bryozoans encrusting
Late Cretaceous Baculite
ammonites from the Western
Interior Seaway, USA
Looks can be deceptive –
molecular results support
ecophenotypic variation in
Schizoporella errata
Tompsett, S.1, Cocito, S.2 & Lombardi, C.2
Taylor, P.D.1, Wilson, M.A.2 & Sime, J.2
1
2
1
Department of Palaeontology, Natural
History Museum, Cromwell Road, London
SW7 5BD, UK
Department of Geology, College of
Wooster, Wooster, Ohio 44691, USA
2
BERS, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
Marine Environment Research Centre ENEA
Santa Teresa. La Spezia, Italy.
Schizoporella errata is a highly invasive species
forming massive colonies on docks and other
manmade structure throughout the
Mediterranean. Across its range S.errata has
been identified with differing colony structures.
Cocito et al. (2000) raised the hypothesis that
the variation in the gross morphology of
S.errata at three neighbouring sites, Lerici, La
Spezia and Tino Island (Liguria, Italy) were the
result of interactions with epibiota and current
regime. Gross morphologies ranged from tall
tubular structures surrounding hydroids and
other invertebrates in areas of low current flow
(Lerici) through to broadly flattened mounds
with little incorporated biota (Tino Island). A
new SEM study of skeletal morphology on
specimens from all three sites has shown no
obvious differences between the three sites,
based upon standard frontal shield characters.
Furthermore a molecular investigation of the
cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) has
revealed that specimens with each of the
three gross morphologies share identical
haplotypes. This evidence strongly suggests
that morphological differences in colonies of S.
errata are the result of ecophenotypic
variation.
Compared to Europe, Upper Cretaceous
bryozoans have been the topic of very few
studies in North America, notwithstanding
recently published papers on bryozoans of this
age from the Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains,
as well as California and Baja California. Less
still is known about bryozoans from the Western
Interior Seaway (WIS). Perusal of the literature
suggests a particularly low diversity of
bryozoans in the WIS, dominated by primitive
uniserial (‘pyriporid’) and multiserial
(‘membraniporimorph’) cheilostomes,
consistent with the depauperate
representation of some other taxonomic
groups such as brachiopods and echinoderms.
New collections made in the CampanianMaastrichtian Pierre Shale of South Dakota and
Wyoming, together with material deposited in
institutions such as the Black Hills Research
Institute and the US Geological Survey, are
allowing us to re-evaluate the Cretaceous
bryozoan fauna of the WIS. An initial focus has
been on uniserial bryozoans encrusting the
interiors of the body chambers of baculites,
straight-shelled ammonites commonly
occurring in sideritic concretions. Undersides of
these bryozoans are visible on the surfaces of
baculite steinkerns, embedded in the sediment
19
IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
Schizoporella dunkeri investigation the phylogeography
of a cosmopolitan cheilostome
Mitogenomics in Bryozoa
Waeschenbach A.1, Littlewood, D.T.J.1, Taylor,
P.D.2 & Porter, J.S.3
Tompsett, S.1,2, Taylor, P.D.2 & Porter, J.S.1
1
2
1
BERS, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
Department of Palaeontology, Natural
History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, UK
2
3
Model species are important for studies of
biogeography where long term trends in
distribution are to be investigated. In particular
abundant and cosmopolitan species with both
a Recent and fossil record may provide insight
into palaeo-climatic events. The species
Schizoporella dunkeri may provide a suitable
model. In our study S. dunkeri has been
confirmed in both the fossil record of the
Miocene (Badenian, Czech Republic) and
Pliocene (Altavilla, Sicily) through SEM studies of
type and supplementary material. Furthermore
a phylogeographic study of Recent S.dunkeri
has been conducted on material collected
from across the species’ European range.
Evidence from variability in the cytochrome c
oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene has revealed that
there is a high level of population structuring
within with three main clades present.
Specimens from the Adriatic Sea appear
widely divergent from a complex of haplotypes
present in Atlantic specimens, (Scilly Isle, Azores
and Galicia) and Western Mediterranean
(Naples and Marseilles). Haplotype networking
and Nested Clade analysis are currently being
applied to determine potential causes of this
divergence. Preliminary morphometric studies
applying eigenshape analysis to key
characters have not been able to separate
populations, in spite of these genetic
differences.
Department of Zoology, Natural History
Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD,
UK
Department of Palaeontology, Natural
History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, UK
Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural
Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Edward
Llwyd Building, Penglais Campus,
Aberystwyth, SY23 3DA
Mitochondrial (mt) genomes are circular DNA
molecules of ~16,000 base pairs, that encode
13 protein coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA
genes and 22 transfer RNA genes, all largely
involved in cellular respiratory processes. For
phylogenetic analyses, mt genomes offer
characters at the nucleotide and amino acid
level, as well as gene order differences as a
result of genome rearrangements.
To date three mitochondrial genomes have
been sequenced: Flustrellidra hispida
(Waeschenbach et al. 2006), Bugula neritina
(Hwang & Jang, unpublished) and Watersipora
subtorquata (Sun et al. 2009). Based on those
data, Sun et al. (2009) found bryozoan to be a
monophyletic group, forming the sister-group
to the Chaetognaths, albeit with only poor
statistical support, a result previously found
(Waeschenbach et al. 2006; Yokobori et al.
2008; Podsiadlowski et al. in press). However,
this grouping is most likely an artifact due to
long-branch attraction, and the position of the
Bryozoa amongst other lophotrochozoans
remains unresolved, with different studies
proposing different sister-groups, largely poorly
supported, depending on data type and taxon
sampling, e.g. Entoprocta (Helmkampf et al.
2008; Hausdorf et al. 2007 – EST data),
Platyhelminthes (Dunn et al. 2008 – EST data),
and Brachiopoda (Yokobori et al. 2008;
Podsiadlowski et al. in press – mt genomes).
Here, data from three further genomes Umbonula littoralis (Cheilostomata),
Pectinatella magnifica (Phylactolaemata) and
Idmidronea atlantica (Cyclostomata) - are
being added in order to provide more diverse
taxon sampling. In particular, P. magnifica,
belonging to Phylactolaemata, which is
suggested to be the sister-group to all other
bryozoans (Fuchs et al. 2009) and which has
shown to be the least genetically derived
bryozoan lineage (unpublished data), promises
to provide further insights into the position of
Bryozoa amongst the metazoans. We will
20
IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
present first results from phylogenetic analyses
and discuss degrees of conservation in gene
order arrangement in the different bryozoan
lineages.
Phylogeny of Plumatellidae
(Ectoprocta: Phylactolaemata):
using molecules and morphology
Wöss, E.R.1 & Waeschenbach, A.2
Catastrophic events and
postmetamorphic de novo
formation during myogenesis of
the cheilostome gymnolaemate
Triphyllozoon mucronatum
1
2
Department of Freshwater Ecology,
University of Vienna, Austria
Department of Zoology, The Natural History
Museum, London
Freshwater bryozoans of the class
Phylactolaemata comprise a relatively small
group of about 70 species organized among six
families. Species distinction based on colony
growth form, colony wall texture, lophophore
shape and tentacle number turned out to be
ambiguous. Taxonomic classification has
therefore shifted to SEM analysis of the
sclerotized surface of the resting stages, the
statoblasts. However, evolutionary trends and
phylogenetic relationships among this class are
still under discussion.
The aim of this study is to provide a molecular
phylogeny of the most problematic
phylactolaemate group, the Plumatellidae. In
addition to sequencing complete nuclear
ribosomal genes 18S and 28S rDNA, new
primers were developed for a ~1000 bp long
fragment of the mitochondrial ribosomal gene
16S rDNA. The resultant phylogeny includes 11
Plumatellidae and several outgroup taxa
(Lophopus crystallinus, Fredericella sultana,
Pectinatella magnifica and Cristatella
mucedo). The molecular genetic framework is
used to discuss the validity of morphological
characters of the resting stages and to
develop hypotheses about the evolution of
various statoblast morphologies.
Wanninger, A.
University of Copenhagen, Institute of Biology,
Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø,
Denmark
Bryozoan development is characterized by a
so-called “catastrophic metamorphosis” during
which the entire larval bodyplan becomes
dramatically modified, finally resulting in the
juvenile, sessile phenotype that bears no
resemblance to the free-swimming larval stage.
While it has frequently been proposed that little
to no larval tissue is retained in the juvenile
animal, the exact fate of larval organ systems
and the dynamics of metamorphic remodelling
has rarely been documented in recent
micromorphological studies. Accordingly, I
investigated the establishment of the juvenile
musculature during metamorphosis in a model
cheilostomate bryozoan, Triphyllozoon
mucronatum. Settlement of competent larvae
was efficiently induced by addition of coral
rubble to larval colonies that were maintained
at ambient seawater temperature (24-28°C).
As early as 15 min after induction large parts of
the larval musculature had been resorbed in
most specimens. The paired retractor muscle of
the internal sac constitutes the muscular
structure that is retained longest – i.e., up to
several hours after induction. At 8 hours post
induction all muscles had been lost and the
juvenile musculature started to form de novo
from 24 hours post induction onwards. No larval
muscle structures are incorporated into the
adult muscular bodyplan, thus confirming the
“catastrophic” nature of metamorphosis in
Triphyllozoon.
21
IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
Protoretepora (De Koninck, 1878):
the schizophrenic Upper
Palaeozoic fenestrate bryozoan
Superficial frontal calcification
(‘secondary calcification’) on
new bryozoans from the Middle
Miocene of Moravia (Czech
Republic)
Wyse Jackson, P.N.1, Reid, C.M.2 & McKinney,
F.K.3
1
2
3
Department of Geology, Trinity College,
Dublin 2, Ireland (wysjcknp@tcd.ie)
Department of Geological Sciences,
University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800,
Christchurch, New Zealand
Department of Geology, Appalachian State
University, Boone, NC 28608, USA
Zágoršek, K.,1 Ostrovsky, A.N. 2 & Vávra, N. 2
1
2
The bryozoan genus Protoretepora was
erected by De Koninck in 1878 and is based on
the species Fenestella ampla from Australia
described (in Darwin (1844) and in de Strzelecki
(1845) by the English palaeontologist William
Lonsdale. Unfortunately, Lonsdale in these two
publications described the species from
different geographical and stratigraphical
settings. He indicated that the new genus
differed from Polypora in having coalescing
branches bearing autozooecia rather than
branches joined by dissepiments (which by
definition do not carry autozooecia). However
close examination of his descriptions and
illustrations clearly depict a mixture of
fenestrate species. This has given rise to
confusion, so much so, that subsequent taxa
assigned to Protoretepora from Permian
successions of a number of localities may
display different and salient characteristics
from each other and may belong to other
genera. Equally species assigned to
Protoretepora ampla since the 1840s may
belong to several species, not necessarily in
Protoretepora. Fenestella ampla Lonsdale,
1844 was originally described from material
collected by Darwin. Subsequent collections
made by de Strzelecki were described and
crucially illustrated also by Lonsdale (in 1845),
and assigned to F. ampla. Some illustrations
clearly show material as having coalescing
branches bearing autozooecia with no
dissepiments, and it was on the basis of this
subsequently collected de Strzelecki material
that de Koninck in 1878 erected the genus
Protoretepora. Examination of de Strzelecki’s
material from the Permian (Sakmarian) of
Tasmania have allowed restriction
Protoretepora to the taxa with these
coalescing branches that lack dissepiments;
those with dissepiments have been referred to
Parapolypora Morozova and Lisitsyn, 1996 by
Reid in 2003.
Dept. of Paleontology, National Museum,
Vaclavské nam. 68, CZ- 115 79 Prague 1,
Czech Republic
Department of Palaeontology, Geozentrum,
University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090,
Wien, Austria
Samples from borehole Vranovice VK 1
(Moravia, Czech Republic) have yielded a new
cheilostome bryozoan, which has, due to the
superficial frontal calcification (‘secondary
calcification’), strongly different external
surface of the ontogenetically older colonies,
but the inner features remain stable and permit
precise identification.
The sequential stages of the ‘secondary
calcification’ have been illustrated to show the
differences in outer features. The earliest stage
showing clearly the shape of the autozooecia
and arrangement of marginal areolar pores.
The secondary apertures show a wide and
deep sinus with well-pronounced marginal
processes. The frontal wall is smooth or slightly
granular.
The shape of the apertures changed during
progressive calcification of the colony. At the
next stage the sinus is almost not visible, and
the secondary aperture became circular.
The continuation of calcification leads to a
reduction in size of the marginal areolae, and
to an acquirement of more granular
appearance of the frontal wall. Finally, the
shape of the autozooecia is not recognizable
anymore. Also the apertures of some
autozooids are occluded.
The last stage of the superficial frontal
calcification is characterized by a formation of
long tubular peristomes around the apertures,
and a highly granular (pustulose) frontal
surface. Some areolae are probably occluded
too.
The longitudinal sections through the frontal
zooidal shield demonstrated very thick
calcification with laminated structure. It is
possible that these layers are represented by
different ultrastructural fabrics, although
preservation does not allow us to make any
definite conclusions. It is also possible that the
skeletal layers in question show an interrupted
22
IBA Larwood Meeting, Oslo, 21-23. May 2009
deposition of the calcium carbonate to the
frontal wall, reflecting, for instance, seasonal
changes in a food supply. Studies on Recent
bryozoans living in seasonal conditions could
help to answer this question.
Altogether, this bryozoan species represents a
very remarkable example, showing how
calcification may change the appearance of
bryozoan colonies, resulting perhaps even in
complete misidentification of specimens. Such
strongly calcified specimens should be treated
with caution, and only complete series showing
different stages of secondary skeletal changes
should be used for taxonomical work.
Acknowledgements: The research was
financed by the Austrian Fonds zur Förderung
der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (grant
P19337-B17), GAČR (Grant agency of Czech
Republic (grant 205/09/0103), and the Ministry
of Culture of Czech Republic (grant
DE06P04OMG009).
Nearly one hundred bryozoan colonies have
been recorded on the hiatus concretions. Onethird of these colonies, however, are strongly
abraded and/or devoid of gonozooids,
preventing precise identification.
The most abundant genus (31 colonies) was
found to be Ceriocava, occurring in the form
of both ‘flabellotrypiform’ and dome-shaped
colonies. This is followed by Microeciella,
characterized by sheet-like colonies with
ovoidal gonozooids. The four new species of
this genus differ in gonozooid shape, position of
the ooeciopore, pseudopore morphology and
autozooid size. Other sheet-like encrusters
comprise four species of Hyporosopora, one of
which is new, and two of Reptomultisparsa,
one new. Two species of Stomatopora and one
of Proboscinopora are runner- and ribbon-like
encrusters that probably adopted a more
fugitive strategy for occupying substrate
space.
Cyclostome bryozoans encrusting
mobile hard substrates from the
Middle Jurassic of Poland
Zatoń, M.1 & Taylor, P.D.2
1
2
University of Silesia, Faculty of Earth Sciences,
Będzińska 60 Street, PL-41-200 Sosnowiec,
Poland, e-mail: mzaton@wnoz.us.edu.pl
Department of Palaeontology, Natural
History Museum, Cromwell Road, London
SW7 5BD, United Kingdom, e-mail:
p.taylor@nhm.ac.uk
Jurassic bryozoans of the order Cyclostomata
are poorly known. This is mainly due to their
very patchy geological and geographical
distributions. Small sizes of mainly encrusting
colonies also mean that they are often
overlooked. Moreover, many Jurassic
cyclostome colonies lack gonozooids (larval
brood chambers), impeding their genus-level
taxonomy. Here we present new data on Late
Bajocian and Bathonian (Middle Jurassic)
cyclostome bryozoans from the ore-bearing
clays of the Polish Jura in south-central Poland.
Although some colonies were found within the
host clays as fragmentary branches or shellencrusting colonies, the majority of
cyclostomes encrust hiatus concretions. These
are early-diagenetic structures that underwent
episodes of exhumation during breaks in
sedimentation and/or erosion, followed by
encrustation and boring by various benthic
organisms.
23