BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Halichondria bowerbanki
All Taxonomy Biology Distribution Reproduction

Researched by	Dr Keith Hiscock and Hugh Jones	Data supplied by	MarLIN
Refereed by	Dr Rob van Soest
General Biology
Growth form	Crustose soft	Feeding method	Active suspension feeder
Mobility/Movement	Permanent attachment	Environmental position	Epifaunal Epilithic
Typical food types	Fine suspended organic matter.	Habit	Attached
Bioturbator	Not relevant	Flexibility	High (>45 degrees)
Fragility	Fragile	Size	Medium-large(21-50cm)
Height	Up to 12 cm	Growth Rate	Mean 1.1 mm/day in summer. None in winter.
Adult dispersal potential	Not relevant	Dependency	Commensal with/on/in
Sociability	Colonial
Toxic/Poisonous?	No
General Biology Additional Information	Under optimal conditions (and with a low sample number), Vethaak et al. (1982) recorded a mean length increase of 1.1 mm / day in summer and no growth in winter. Vethaak et al. (1982) identified five distinct growth forms (plus intermediate forms) including incrusting, bushlike and massive forms. They reported a maximum colony size of 25 cm width to 12 cm high although most colonies are rarely this big. In some sheltered locations the branches grow over other species and loop like bramble stolons attaching to any suitable object they encounter. Found to house a large community of associated amphipod species which show seasonal variation (Biernbaum, 1981). The green filamentous algae Microspora ficulinae lives in association with the tissues of Halichondria bowerbanki.
Biology References	Soest van et al., 2000, Moss & Ackers, 1982, Farnham et al., 1985, Biernbaum, 1981, Barthel & Wolfrath, 1989, Barthel, 1988,