Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae

Geographic Range

The Carribean sea plume, Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae , is found in the tropical Caribbean portion of the Atlantic Ocean. Countries that have documented its presence are the United States (Florida Keys), Honduras, San Salvador, Nicaragua, Columbia, the Bahamas, Belize, and Mexico. This species, as well as other gorgonian octocorals, are found most extensively in this region of the world.

• Biogeographic Regions
• atlantic ocean atlantic ocean
  • native native

Habitat

Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae is usually found at deeper and calmer fore reef sites, up to depths of about 100 feet (31 m), and along reef drop offs.

• Habitat Regions
• tropical tropical
• saltwater or marine saltwater or marine

• Aquatic Biomes
• reef reef

Physical Description

Pseudopterogorgonia elisabethae is frequently found as a bushy aggregation of feather-like branches, each resembling a plume, around a central axis. The branches are long, with pinnate, distichous branchlets. Orientation is often across the usual current direction to maximize surface exposure to the currents of the water column. This tall feathery morphology is more suitable for the deeper waters where the water movement is slower because the gentle currents will not uproot the structure.

• Other Physical Features
• ectothermic ectothermic
• heterothermic heterothermic
• radial symmetry radial symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

Development

Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae has three phases to the life cycle. As a result of the asychronous spawning, the unfertilized eggs are held by the female on reproductive polyps which are exposed to the currents to come into contact with sperm. The fertilized egg then develops into its larval stage over a time period of 1-2 days. Larvae are brooded first on the parental colony for a duration of 2-4 days and then are free swimming, ciliated, bilaterally symmetric planulae that are negatively buoyant. Settlement is frequently within a few hundred meters of the parent colony because of this negative buoyancy. The larva then settles on free space and continues to reproduce asexually to increase the number of zooids and take the adult form of long branches with pinnate branchlets.

• Development - Life Cycle
• metamorphosis metamorphosis
• colonial growth colonial growth
• indeterminate growth indeterminate growth

Reproduction

After the larval form of Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae settles, it reproduces asexually to increase the number of zooids. Once it becomes the adult form it is separated into male and female colonies where it reproduces sexually. Males release sperm into the water which is taken up by the female colonies.

• Mating System
• polygynandrous (promiscuous) polygynandrous (promiscuous)

Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae reproduces asexually to increase the number of zooids. When sexually spawning, male colonies release sperm into the water column and the female colonies remain stationary, catching sperm on the their unfertilized eggs as the currents pass through the females. This occurs one to three times a day for any individual colony. Colonies that are closer together are more probable to mate with each other than those colonies at further distances because of the mode of sperm transmission. The spawning of the species is asynchronous, meaning the releasing and producing gametes is not done in mass at one particular time but continues to happen throughout the year. However, spawning is higher on average between the months of November to January.

• Key Reproductive Features
• year-round breeding year-round breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• asexual asexual
• fertilization fertilization
  • external external

Some parental care is exhibited by the female colonies as they brood their fertilized eggs on the branches of the mother colony for 1-2 days, while the eggs develop into the planula larval stage. The brooding of the fertilized egg/developing planula is generally for their protection against predators. Pre-fertilization care may also be present as the female of this species does not release her eggs into the currents but instead holds them on her branches to better increase the chance that they will be fertilized instead of eaten.

• Parental Investment
• no parental involvement
• female parental care female parental care
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
• pre-hatching/birth
  • protecting
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

The life span of this species is unknown.

Behavior

Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae is motile as a planula larval stage and a sessile, colonial species as an adult. Colonies are distinctly sexed. The soft body holds many polyps that remain retracted during the day and expel outwards at night to feed on nutrients in the water column.

This species has a symbiotic relationship with various clades of zooxanthellae with each polyp of the organism. The coral receives both oxygen and energy from this mutualism, whereas the zooxanthellae are provided with shelter, protection and some nutrients from the coral.

• Key Behaviors
• nocturnal nocturnal
• sessile sessile
• motile motile
• colonial colonial

Communication and Perception

The polyps of the colony can perceive the prescence of light. This is evident because the breeding and feeding cycles exhibited by this coral. Breeding occurs most abundantly for all members of the species at the time of the full moon so the amount of light must be able to be sensed. Ability to discern light is also concluded from the organisms nocturnal feeding habits. Like all cnidarians, a tactile response will be launched by triggering of the nematocyst system.

• Communication Channels
• chemical chemical

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

The extended tentacles on the polyps of Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae actively catch nutrients in the form of detritus, zooplankton and microbes from the water column. Nutrients are also received through the corals' symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae (mostly clade-B). Excess sugar products are manufactured for the coral by the zooxanthellae in return for the protection, habitat and some wastes produced by the coral.

• Primary Diet
• herbivore herbivore
  • eats sap or other plant foods
• planktivore planktivore
• detritivore detritivore

• Animal Foods
• other marine invertebrates
• zooplankton zooplankton

• Plant Foods
• phytoplankton phytoplankton

• Other Foods
• detritus detritus
• microbes

• Foraging Behavior
• filter-feeding filter-feeding

Predation

Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae is well equipped for defense. This species produces a chemical compound called pseudopterosins, secondary toxic metabolites, which act as a deterrent for most predators and microbes. However, the flamingo tongue snail, Cyphoma gibbosums is an ectoparasite that feeds on the tissue of sea plumes, although P. elisabethae is not the snail's preferred species. The flamingo tongue snail is a specially adapted predator for Gorgoniidae and is largely not susceptible to the defenses that Pseudopterogorgia has against other predators.

Ecosystem Roles

There is a common mutualism, shared by most coral, with zooxanthellae ( Symbiodinium spp.). The extent of this species and its role in the building of new reefs has not been fully investigated but other octocoral gorgonians , because they are firmly "rooted", may provide a base for other coral colonies to expand.

The flamingo tongue snail, Cyphoma gibbosums is an ectoparasite on Pseudopterogorgia sea plumes although P. elisabethae is not the preferred host species.

• Ecosystem Impact
• creates habitat

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

This species has been studied for medicinal uses. The pseudopterosins that are produced have been used in medications such as analgesics, cosmetic creams and as a non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drug. The main compound isolated is pseudopterosin A, which is being studied because of the selectivity it exhibits as an analgesic. This species is also cultivated for fish tanks in the pet trade industry.

• Positive Impacts
• pet trade pet trade
• body parts are source of valuable material
• source of medicine or drug source of medicine or drug
• research and education

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There are no known adverse effects of Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae on humans.

Conservation Status

This species is harvested for medicinal uses off of Caribbean Islands where it is native. However, Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae is not currently endangered, threatened or protected.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Allison Huggan (author), Rutgers University, David V. Howe (editor), Rutgers University, Renee Mulcrone (editor), Special Projects.

References

Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, C., H. Lasker. 2005. Reproductive biology, development, and planula behavior in the Caribbean gorgonian Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae . Invertebrate Biology , 123: 54-67.

Humann, P., N. Deloach. 2002. Coral reef identification . Jacksonville, Florida, USA: New World Publications, Inc.

Lasker, H. 2006. High fertilization success in a surface brooding Caribbean gorgonian. The Biological Bulletin , 210: 10-17.

Look, S., W. Fenicle, R. Jacobs, J. Clardy. 1986. The pseudopterosins: anti-inflammatory and analgesic natural products from the sea whip Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae . Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. , 83: 6238-6240.

Mulzer, J. 2005. Natural product synthesis: targets, methods, concepts . The Netherlands: Spring-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Okpala, D., J. Wood. 2002. "Marine Invertebrates of Bermuda" (On-line). Accessed February 23, 2013 at http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/MarineInvertebrateZoology/Cyphomagibbosum.html .

Puyana, M., G. Narvaez, A. Paz, O. Osorno, C. Duque. 2004. Pseudopterosin content variability of the purple sea whip Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae at the islands of San Andres and Providencia (SW Caribbean). Journal of Chemical Ecology , 6: 1183-1187.

Walker, T., G. Bull. 1983. A newly discovered method of reproduction in gorgonian coral. Marine Ecology , 12: 137-143.

2011. "Drugs From the Sea Index" (On-line). Resources. Accessed April 09, 2013 at http://www.marinebiotech.org/pseudopterosins.html .