Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 431 (2015) 1–5
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Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/palaeo
Earliest known rugosan-stromatoporoid symbiosis from the Llandovery
of Estonia (Baltica)
Olev Vinn a,⁎, Mark A. Wilson b, Ursula Toom c, Mari-Ann Mõtus c
a
b
c
Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Ravila 14A, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
Department of Geology, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 44691, USA
Institute of Geology, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 3 March 2015
Received in revised form 8 April 2015
Accepted 21 April 2015
Available online 30 April 2015
Keywords:
Symbiosis
Bioclaustrations
Stromatoporoids
Rugosans
Baltica
Silurian
a b s t r a c t
A stromatoporoid, Petridiostroma simplex, from the Llandovery of Estonia was infested by numerous rugosan endobiotic symbionts of the species Petrozium losseni (Dybowski, 1874). These rugosans presumably benefitted
from the stable growth substrate provided by the stromatoporoid. The effects of the endobiotic rugosans on
the stromatoporoid are not known, but it is possible that they reduced its feeding efficiency. The relatively
thick skeletons of the rugosans could indicate a short evolutionary history for this symbiotic association. The
elevation of the symbionts' apertures above the host stromatoporoid may have been to achieve a feeding advantage if the host stromatoporoid and rugosans competed for nutrients. This record and others suggest that complex ecological interactions such as symbiosis were common among the macroscopic invertebrates of the
Ordovician–Silurian mass extinction recovery fauna.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Endobiotic rugosans often had symbiotic relationships with
stromatoporoids, and such interactions are especially common in the
Silurian of Baltica (Kershaw, 1987; Vinn and Wilson, 2012; Vinn and
Mõtus, 2014a). In addition to rugosans, the tabulate coral Syringopora
is also a common endobiotic symbiont in Silurian stromatoporoids of
Baltica (Kershaw, 1987; Vinn et al., 2014). The Silurian of Baltica has a
relatively rich record of symbiotic interactions between various other
macroscopic invertebrates (Kershaw, 1987; Vinn and Wilson, 2010,
2012; Vinn and Mõtus, 2014a,b). Vinn and Wilson (2010) recently described a symbiotic cornulitid and stromatoporoid association from
the late Sheinwoodian of Estonia in which they recorded large numbers
of stromatoporoids (77% of the preserved population) as infested by
cornulitid endobionts.
Syn vivo interactions between different organisms are rather rare
in the fossil record. The best studied examples comprise various
predatory borings. Similarly important are the endobionts embedded
(i.e. bioimmured) by the living tissues of host organisms (see Taylor,
1990 for a review). Microscopic invertebrate symbionts are known
from the Cambrian (Bassett et al., 2004). Macroscopic endobiotic
invertebrate symbionts appeared later in the Late Ordovician (see
Tapanila, 2005 for a summary). Palaeozoic rugosans were sometimes
bioimmured by living tissues of stromatoporoids or corals; they differ
from bioclaustrations (Palmer and Wilson, 1988) by having their own
skeleton. Endobiotic lingulid brachiopod symbionts in stromatoporoids
appeared earlier (i.e. Llandovery) than rugosan symbionts (i.e. Wenlock
until this work) and are the earliest known skeletal endobiotic symbionts of stromatoporoids (Tapanila, 2005). Lingulids often occupied
empty borings in the stromatoporoids, and in some cases these borings
have been overgrown indicating syn vivo interaction (Stewart et al.,
2010).
The fauna of stromatoporoids and rugose corals of the Silurian of
Estonia is relatively well studied (Nestor, 1964, 1966; Kaljo, 1958).
The symbiotic interactions between different animal groups must
obviously be after their first evolutionary appearance. In order to better
understand the evolution of symbiosis it is important know the times
these interactions appeared.
The aim of this paper is: 1) to describe the earliest known rugosan
symbionts in stromatoporoids of the Silurian of Baltica; and 2) to discuss
the palaeoecology of this rugosan-stromatoporoid association.
2. Geological background and localities
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: olev.vinn@ut.ee (O. Vinn), mwilson@wooster.edu (M.A. Wilson),
ursula.toom@ttu.ee (U. Toom), motus@gi.ee (M.-A. Mõtus).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.04.023
0031-0182/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
During the Silurian the Baltica continent was located in equatorial
latitudes and drifting northwards (Melchin et al., 2004). The area of
modern Estonia was mostly covered by the shallow epicontinental
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O. Vinn et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 431 (2015) 1–5
Fig. 1. The location of Laukna quarry and Pae karstfield in Estonia.
Baltic Basin (Fig. 1). The Baltic Basin was characterized by a wide range
of tropical environments that included coral-stromatoporoid reefs and
lagoons. The biota of this basin was diverse (Hints et al., 2008).
Nestor and Einasto (1977) described the paleoenvironments of the
basin as composed of following facies belts: tidal flat/lagoonal, shoal,
open shelf, transitional (i.e. basin slope), and a basin depression. The
first three facies belts formed a shallow carbonate shelf (i.e. carbonate
platform). The latter two facies belts formed a deeper pericratonic
basin where fine-grained clastic deposits were deposited (Raukas and
Teedumäe, 1997).
Laukna (58.929152, 24.186950) is an old quarry in an ancient coastal
terrace, about 5 km to north from Koluvere Castle in western Estonia
(Fig. 1). A flaggy micritic and coral-stromatoporoid limestone is
exposed from the middle part of the Raikküla Formation (middle
Llandovery) (Mõtus and Hints, 2007). Other fauna includes the tabulates Multisolenia tortuosaeformis, Parastriatopora celebrata, Sinopora
operta, and the rugosans Dokophyllum sp.
Pae karstfield (58.99619, 24.916086) is located in western Estonia
(Fig. 1). Limestones of the Raikküla Regional Stage containing
stromatoporoids are exposed there (H. Nestor, personal comm.). In addition to stromatoporoids, solitary rugosans also occur at Pae karstfield.
(Dybowski, 1874) (Fig. 4). Both of the infested stromatoporoids had numerous endobiotic rugosans (N20) (Fig. 3A).
The growth surface of the infested P. simplex is evenly covered with
apertures of symbiotic rugosans at various growth stages (Fig. 3A). The
apertures of the rugosans are elevated above the growth surface of the
host stromatoporoid. There is no regular distribution of the symbiont
apertures relative to the stromatoporoid morphology; symbionts are
numerous at the edges of stromatoporoid as well as in the central
regions.
The rugosan symbionts are located perpendicularly to subperpendicularly relative to the growth surface of the stromatoporoid. There is
a notable change in orientation of the host stromatoporoid growth lamellae around each rugosan symbiont. The growth lamellae of the
3. Material and methods
Thirty stromatoporoids were collected from the Raikküla Regional
Stage at the Laukna outcrop and five stromatoporoids from Raikküla
Regional Stage of Pae karstfield (Fig. 2, Table 1). The studied
stromatoporoids were sectioned using a stone saw, and then three
thin-sections were made. The thin-sections were scanned with an
Epson 4490 scanner.
All of the studied specimens are deposited in the collections of the
Institute of Geology, Tallinn University of Technology (GIT).
4. Results
Among the total stromatoporoid population collected at the
Laukna outcrop, symbiosis with rugosans was rare; only a single
stromatoporoid (Petridiostroma simplex) specimen of the 30 studied
was infested by the symbiotic rugosan Petrozium losseni (Dybowski,
1874) (Fig. 3). Among the five stromatoporoids from Pae karstfield,
one (Clathrodictyon turritum = P. simplex) was infested with P. losseni
Fig. 2. The stratigraphy of the Llandovery of Estonia. Location of earliest rugosan symbionts
in stromatoporoids marked with asterisk.
O. Vinn et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 431 (2015) 1–5
3
Table 1
Locality information of studied stromatoporoids.
Locality
Species
Laukna (Raikküla
Regional Stage)
Ecclimadictyon macrotuberculatum
Intexodictyon avitum
Intexodictyon olevi
Clathrodictyon turritum = Petridiostroma
simplex
Ecclimadictyon sp.
Unidentified stromatoporoids
Clathrodictyon boreale
C. turritum = Petridiostroma simplex
Ecclimadictyon microvesiculosum
Unidentified stromatoporoids
Pae karstfield (Raikküla
Regional Stage)
Number of
specimen
6
4
3
2
2
14
1
1
1
2
host stromatoporoid are turned upwards around the upper half of the
rugosan symbiont (Fig. 3B).
The symbiotic rugosans are continuously surrounded by their own
skeleton, without any openings, throughout their growth. The thickness
of the symbiotic rugosans skeleton is not noticeably reduced (0.2 to
0.5 mm) (Fig. 3. B–D).
5. Discussion
5.1. Analysis of the association
The set of studied specimens is not large enough to determine
the exact nature of this association. We are not certain whether
the rugosans were obligatory or facultative symbionts in the
stromatoporoids. Some solitary rugosans also occur in the studied
outcrops, but they do not belong to Petrozium. It is also not clear
whether the symbiotic rugosans were species-specific symbionts in
Fig. 4. Petrozium losseni (Dybowski, 1874) rugosans in stromatoporoid Petridiostroma
simplex, Raikküla Regional Stage, Llandovery of Pae karstfield, western Estonia (GIT 113-37).
the stromatoporoids of the Raikküla Regional Stage. However, among
the three specimens of P. simplex, two were infested by rugosans,
leaving a possibility that rugosans preferred P. simplex over other species of stromatoporoids.
The relatively thick skeletons of the symbiotic rugosans (0.2 to
0.5 mm) could indicate a short evolutionary history of this symbiosis,
as the formation of a massive skeleton is energetically costly and an
unnecessary investment when the host provided skeletal support.
Fedorowski and Gorianov (1973) figured nonsymbiotic P. losseni specimens with wall thicknesses of 0.2 to 0.3 mm.
Rugosans definitely benefitted from the stable growth substrate provided by the host stromatoporoid. This association was presumably
formed for such stability rather than for a higher feeding tier on the
Fig. 3. A–D, Petrozium losseni (Dybowski, 1874) rugosans in stromatoporoid Petridiostroma simplex, Raikküla Regional Stage, Llandovery of western Estonia. A, Petrozium losseni (Dybowski,
1874) rugosans in stromatoporoid Petridiostroma simplex, Raikküla Regional Stage, Llandovery of Laukna quarry, western Estonia (GIT 666-5). B, Longitudinal section of Petrozium losseni
(Dybowski, 1874) in stromatoporoid Petridiostroma simplex Raikküla Regional Stage, Llandovery of Laukna quarry, western Estonia (GIT 666-5). C, Transverse section of Petrozium losseni
(Dybowski, 1874) in stromatoporoid Petridiostroma simplex Raikküla Regional Stage, Llandovery of Laukna quarry, western Estonia (GIT 666-5). D, Transverse section of Petrozium losseni
(Dybowski, 1874) in stromatoporoid Petridiostroma simplex Raikküla Regional Stage, Llandovery of Pae karstfield, western Estonia (GIT 113-37).
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O. Vinn et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 431 (2015) 1–5
sea floor because the symbiont apertures are evenly distributed over the
stromatoporoid growth surface without a preference for the topographically higher locations. The elevation of symbiont apertures above the
host stromatoporoid surface could have been an antifouling strategy
for the symbionts. Alternatively, it may have been related to achieving
a feeding advantage if the host stromatoporoid and rugosans competed
for nutrients. The antifouling strategy seems less likely because in
that case the host stromatoporoid growth lamellae would have been
turned upwards during the entire growth of the symbiont. In modern
demosponges, antifouling strategies are very common (Krug, 2006;
Ribeiro et al., 2013). It is possible that some antifouling strategies may
have been present already in early Palaeozoic sponges. Interference
and repulsion have been observed in some intergrown skeletons. This
is similar to the effects of aggression in modern scleractinian corals
(Tapanila, 2008). Zapalski and Hubert (2011) found a decrease in host
stromatoporoid growth rates associated with symbiotic Torquaysalpinx
sp. The Devonian Torquaysalpinx sp. may have been a parasite gaining
living space and possibly also food resources from its host (Zapalski
and Hubert, 2011).
It is impossible to detect whether the host stromatoporoids were
colonized immediately by the rugosans and the younger symbiont generations represent offspring of earlier colonists, or if the stromatoporoid
was colonized by symbionts multiple times during its life. In the cut sections we did not find any completely embedded older generations of
rugosans.
regions (Mistiaen, 1984; Kershaw, 1987; Vinn et al., 2014). A general
picture emerges suggesting that Silurian stromatoporoids were easy
to colonize by various invertebrates.
5.2. Comparison with other rugosan stromatoporoid symbiosis
5.6. O/S extinction and symbiotic interactions
Similar rugosan-stromatoporoid associations have been described
from the late Sheinwoodian of Estonia (Vinn and Mõtus, 2014a). A
symbiotic rugosan has been recently described from a stromatoporoid
of Pridoli of Saaremaa, Estonia (Vinn and Wilson, 2012), but in this
association only a couple of rugosans occur in a relatively large
stromatoporoid. In contrast, the late Sheinwoodian stromatoporoidrugosan association from Saaremaa (Vinn and Mõtus, 2014a) is generally similar to the association described here. The rugosans in this
described association have a larger size than their Sheinwoodian
equivalents, but the occupied area of the feeding surface of the host is
similar. Numerous rugosans occur in the stromatoporoids of the Silurian
of Gotland (Mori, 1969, 1970; Kershaw, 1987) and in the Devonian
of Spain (Soto and Méndez Bedia, 1985).
Records of Late Ordovician and Silurian macroscopic symbionts in
stromatoporoids and tabulate corals are numerous. Vinn et al. (2013)
found that numerous macroscopic symbionts occurred among the
stromatoporoids of the Ordovician/Silurian recovery fauna in Baltica. It
seems that the record of macroscopic symbionts from the mass extinction recovery interval is still growing. This record also indicates that
complex ecological interactions (such as symbiosis) were common
among the macroscopic invertebrates of the Ordovician–Silurian mass
extinction recovery fauna. Thus, it is possible that the mass extinction
did not have a severe effect on the symbiotic interactions, or these interactions were very shortly re-established after the extinction event.
5.3. Comparison with other stromatoporoid symbiosis
Financial support to O.V. was provided by a Palaeontological Association Research Grant and Estonian Research Council projects ETF9064
and IUT20-34. M.W. thanks the Luce Fund at The College of Wooster.
We thank Stephen Kershaw for identifying the stromatoporoid, and
Dimitri Kaljo for identification of the rugosan. This paper is a contribution to IGCP 591 “The Early to Middle Palaeozoic Revolution”. We are
grateful to G. Baranov, Institute of Geology, Tallinn University of
Technology for photographing the specimens. We are grateful to journal
reviewers for their constructive comments.
Silurian stromatoporoids host many symbiotic endobionts (Tapanila,
2005). Some of stromatoporoid endobionts are preserved as bioclaustrations since they lack their own skeleton (Tapanila, 2005; Vinn
and Mõtus, 2014b). Bioclaustrations in the Silurian stromatoporoids
are also known from Estonia. In the Ludlow of Estonia, spiral traces
belonging to Helicosalpinx occur in the biostromal stromatoporoids
(Vinn and Mõtus, 2014b). These traces are more numerous per
stromatoporoid specimen (N 100 in a larger stromatoporoid specimen)
than the rugosans in the association described here. However,
regarding the large size (i.e. removed space from host's feeding surface)
of the rugosans, their impact on the host's physiology may have
not been smaller. Similar bioclaustrations in tabulates have recently
been interpreted as traces of parasites (Zapalski, 2007, 2011).
Parasitic tubeworm-like Torquaysalpinx was described from the
Devonian stromatoporoids by Zapalski and Hubert (2011). Silurian
stromatoporoids in the Sheinwoodian of Estonia also hosted
bioimmured cornulitid tubeworms (Vinn and Wilson, 2010). Similarly
to bioclaustrations and rugosan symbionts, stromatoporoids can
host large numbers of cornulitids (Vinn and Wilson, 2010). There are
also records of symbiotic brachiopods living within the Silurian
stromatoporoids (Tapanila, 2005). In addition, syringoporids occur in
large numbers in the Silurian stromatoporoids of Baltica and other
5.4. Comparison with other rugosan symbiosis
In addition to stromatoporoids, rugosan symbionts also occur in tabulate corals and crinoids. A symbiotic Streptelasma sp. was an endobiont
within the tabulate coral Paleofavosites prolificus in the Llandovery of
Ohio (Sorauf and Kissling, 2012). Living crinoid stems were infested
by rugose corals in the Devonian of Morocco and Germany (Berkowski
and Klug, 2011; Bohatý et al., 2012). However, the cases of symbiosis between rugosans and stromatoporoids (Kershaw, 1987; Vinn and Mõtus,
2014a) seem to be more common than the other associations in the
Palaeozoic.
5.5. Other cases of symbiosis by bioimmuration in the early Palaeozoic
Early Palaezoic tabulates hosted various symbiotic endobionts similarly to the recent corals (Nishi and Nishihira, 1996, 1999). Almost all of
the most common massive early Palaeozoic skeletons were colonized by
symbiotic endobionts (Tapanila, 2005). It is likely that the rapid increase
in bioimmuration cases in the early Palaeozoic (Tapanila, 2005) was
linked to the general increase in biodiversity of the Great Ordovician
Biodiversification Event (Harper, 2006).
Acknowledgments
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