The nestling and facultatively boring pectinid bivalve Pedum spondyloideum (Gmelin, 1791) is an obligate associate of living scleractinian corals... » More

The nestling and facultatively boring pectinid bivalve Pedum spondyloideum (Gmelin, 1791) is an obligate associate of living scleractinian corals that occurs in the Indo-Pacific. It attaches byssally and lives embedded in the coral skeleton. In order to enhance the understanding of the nature of associations between Pedum and its scleractinian host corals recent field surveys have been conducted in the north Red Sea and in different areas of the ‘Coral Triangle'. These studies have shown that Pedum can be associated with more than 50 scleractinian species. Pedum is associated more frequently and in higher densities with submassive to encrusting and even branching Montipora species and also with calcareous hydrozoans of the genus Millepora in the Red Sea, whereas it is mainly associated with massive Porites in the ‘Coral Triangle'. Although some coral species are common to the different studied sites, Pedum do not infest the same species, indicating that the associations differ regionally. As yet, it is unclear what type of association exists between Pedum and its host corals. It is certain, however, that the distribution of P. spondyloideum on different coral species is not random and that there is a distinct habitat preference for certain corals over others.

 

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