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Unveiling the diet of the thermophilic starfish Ophidiaster ophidianus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) combining visual observation and stable isotopes analysis

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Abstract

The starfish Ophidiaster ophidianus is an Atlanto-Mediterranean species protected under the EU’s Habitat Directive. Despite the wide distribution and the current range of expansion of this thermophilic species in the northern Mediterranean Sea, nothing is known about its diet. Using field observations and δ13C and δ15N Stable Isotopes Analysis (SIA), the feeding habits of O. ophidianus were explored in two Mediterranean rocky reef areas located in the southern Tyrrhenian (Ustica Island, Italy) and the eastern Adriatic Sea (Molunat, Croatia). According to field observations, O. ophidianus preys mainly on crustose coralline algae (CCA) and the keratose sponge Ircinia variabilis in both areas. SIA confirmed the role of CCA in the diet of O. ophidianus but not that of the sponge and highlighted a not negligible role played by other sessile invertebrates, such us small gastropods and small sedentary worms. It was concluded that O. ophidianus is a facultative herbivore in Mediterranean rocky reefs.

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Data availability statement

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

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Acknowledgements

A. Mirasole, S. Noè and V. Costa significantly contributed to field and laboratory analysis. The authors are indebted to three anonymous reviewers for their constructive and challenging comments and to Julie-Anne Buck for revising the English text.

Funding

This study was funded by the MIUR, the Italian Ministry of Education and Research, (FIRB Grant 2013–2016 n. RBFR12RXWL). This paper is dedicated to Mario Gianguzza who has inspired it.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, CoNISMa, Archirafi 18, 90123, Palermo, Italy

    Francesco Di Trapani, Chiara Bonaviri & Paola Gianguzza

  2. National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, OGS, Via Beirut 2/4, 34151, Trieste, Italy

    Davide Agnetta

  3. CNR-IAS, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo, 4521-90149, Palermo, Italy

    Fabio Badalamenti

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  1. Francesco Di Trapani
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Correspondence to Davide Agnetta.

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Di Trapani, F., Agnetta, D., Bonaviri, C. et al. Unveiling the diet of the thermophilic starfish Ophidiaster ophidianus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) combining visual observation and stable isotopes analysis. Mar Biol 167, 93 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03704-y

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