Nephtheidae soft corals are a common component of benthic ecosystems in the Northwest (NW) Atlantic and in the Arctic, but little is known about their functional roles. Here we investigated their role as habitat for basket stars (Ophiuroidea). By examining over 4500 soft coral colonies of Drifa glomerata, Duva florida, Gersemia spp., and Pseudodrifa racemosa collected during trawl surveys in the regions of Newfoundland, Labrador and West Baffin Bay, we show that Nephtheidae soft corals are habitat for juvenile Gorgonocephalus sp. basket stars. Juvenile Gorgonocephalus sp. were found on all soft corals species, but Drifa glomerata was the soft coral species with the highest occurrence of associated juvenile basket stars (32%), with a maximum of 111 basket stars found on a single 4.8 cm tall (contracted state) colony. Individual basket star disc diameter did not change with colony height, but it varied with season for individuals found on D. glomerata. On the other hand, colony height was positively related with maximum disc diameter (D. glomerata), and presence and number of basket stars on a colony (D. glomerata and D. florida). One very young ophiuroid was found within one polyp of a D. florida colony collected in July. We also examined bottom trawl survey data from 2011 to 2017 from Newfoundland to Baffin Bay, and other locations in the Eastern Canadian Arctic and found that for our largest database, 45% of trawl sets that contained basket stars also contained corals, of which 67% were Nephtheidae soft corals. In this study we show that all four Nephtheidae soft coral taxa studied act as habitat for juvenile basket stars, which are conspicuous components of benthic communities in cold-water environments. Soft corals are commonly exposed and vulnerable to bottom fishing gear in the North Atlantic. We urge future studies evaluating the nature of this relationship, the potential role of soft corals as nurseries, and the potential degree of dependency/preference between basket stars and soft corals in relation to other organisms.

中文翻译：

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冷水软珊瑚（刺胞动物：Nephtheidae）作为幼年篮星（棘皮动物：Gorgonocephalidae）的栖息地

Nephtheidae 软珊瑚是西北 (NW) 大西洋和北极海底生态系统的常见组成部分，但对其功能作用知之甚少。在这里，我们调查了它们作为篮星（Ophiuroidea）栖息地的作用。通过检查在纽芬兰、拉布拉多和西巴芬湾地区的拖网调查期间收集的 4500 多个 Drifa glomerata、Duva florida、Gersemia 和 Pseudodrifa racemosa 软珊瑚群落，我们表明 Nephtheidae 软珊瑚是幼年 Gorgonocephalus sp. 的栖息地。篮星。幼年 Gorgonocephalus sp。在所有软珊瑚物种上都发现了 ，但 Drifa glomerata 是相关幼年篮星出现率最高的软珊瑚物种（32%），在一个 4.8 厘米高（收缩状态）的群落中发现了最多 111 颗篮星。单个篮星盘直径不随菌落高度而变化，但在 D. glomerata 上发现的个体随季节变化。另一方面，菌落高度与最大圆盘直径（D. glomerata）以及菌落（D. glomerata 和 D. florida）上篮星的存在和数量呈正相关。在 7 月收集的佛罗里达 D. 菌落的一个息肉中发现了一种非常年轻的鸦片类药物。我们还检查了 2011 年至 2017 年从纽芬兰到巴芬湾以及加拿大东部北极其他地区的底拖网调查数据，发现在我们最大的数据库中，45% 的包含篮星的拖网集也包含珊瑚，其中 67%是 Nephtheidae 软珊瑚。在这项研究中，我们表明所研究的所有四种 Nephtheidae 软珊瑚分类群都是幼年篮星的栖息地，它们是冷水环境中底栖群落的显着组成部分。软珊瑚通常暴露在北大西洋的底层渔具中并容易受到攻击。我们敦促未来的研究评估这种关系的性质、软珊瑚作为苗圃的潜在作用，以及篮星和软珊瑚与其他生物相关的潜在依赖/偏好程度。