Current status of the distribution of the coral-encrusting cyanobacteriosponge Terpios hoshinota in southern Japan

Abstract

The cyanobacteriosponge Terpios hoshinota encrusts living coral and other benthos, and occasionally undergoes massive outbreaks, resulting in large amounts of damage to coral reef ecosystems. At the same time, this species is theorized to be expanding its range in the northwestern Pacifi c. Despite this, the current distribution of this species in Japan is unknown, with no research having been conducted since an initial assessment in 1984-1985. To address this information defi ciency, a survey of the Ryukyu Archipelago from Amami Oshima Island south to the Yaeyama Islands was conducted to assess the distribution of T. hoshinota over the period of 2009 to 2011. Field images have been posted as an online image archive for researchers to utilize in future research.