Data from: The dorid nudibranchs Peltodoris lentiginosa and Archidoris odhneri as predators of glass sponges

The dorid nudibranchs Peltodoris lentiginosa and Archidoris odhneri were
found on glass sponges (Porifera, Hexactinellida) during remotely operated
vehicle surveys of three reefs in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia,
Canada. Eight nudibranchs were sampled from 2009 to 2011. Identification
of sponge spicules found in their gut and fecal contents confirmed the
nudibranchs to be predators of the reef-forming hexactinellids
Aphrocallistes vastus and Heterochone calyx, as well as of the demosponge
Desmacella austini, which encrusts skeletons of the glass sponges. Four of
five nudibranchs dissected for gut content analysis had stomachs
containing sponge spicules. Counts from high-definition video footage
taken during systematic surveys done in 2009 showed that nudibranchs were
found in only two of the three glass sponge reefs. These data provide the
first quantitative evidence of a molluscan predator on glass sponges found
outside of Antarctica, and establish the first trophic link between glass
sponges and their associated community of animals in a sponge reef
ecosystem on the western Canadian continental shelf.