Halocladius variabilis (Diptera: Chironomidae): a marine insect symbiotic with seaweeds from the White Sea, Russia

The commensal (and possibly mutualistic) symbiosis between the marine chironomid, Halocladius variabilis, and brown algal epiphytes of Fucus vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum is described for the first time from Europe, based on field studies from the White Sea, Russia. While the primary host, Elachista fucicola, and the secondary host, A. nodosum, are the same as in eastern Canada where the symbiosis was first described, White Sea populations have a wider range of primary hosts that include Pylaiella littoralis and Dictyosiphon foeniculaceus. About 64% of E. fucicola thalli on A. nodosum in the low intertidal zone were colonized. Significantly lower frequencies were found on E. fucicola when the latter was epiphytic on F. vesiculosus at the same tidal height or on either secondary host when the), were in the subtidal zone. For a given tidal height, or secondary host, frequency of H. variabilis was reduced on P. littoralis and further reduced on D. foeniculaceus. We suggest that subtidal populations are colonized by dispersal of larvae from the intertidal zone on to suitable substrata, and that there is limited potential for these individuals to reach the intertidal zone as adults for reproduction.