Awareness that sponges are relevant silicic acid (DSi) users is growing; however, understanding how their DSi consumption kinetics perform is still limited. We investigated the effects that seasonal changes in a temperate ecosystem (Bay of Brest, France) have on the DSi consumption of 2 dominant sponge species: Hymeniacidon perlevis and Tethya citrina. The results indicated that while both species increased their rate of DSi utilization with DSi availability following saturable Michaelis-Menten kinetics, only the kinetics of T. citrina shifted seasonally. This species consumed DSi at a higher rate in autumn than in summer. Surprisingly, the increase in DSi utilization did not involve an increase in net affinity for DSi but rather augmentation of both the half-saturation concentration and the maximum velocity of transport characterizing the kinetics. By quantifying the biomass of the 2 sponge species in the bay and the monthly availability of DSi over an annual cycle, a yearly DSi consumption of 2.50 ± 3.21 × 10 6 mol Si was calculated for their populations. The oversight of the seasonal kinetic change would introduce inaccuracies of 10% into the global DSi consumption budget of the bay. Because the seasonal kinetic differences increased enormously with increasing DSi availability, the relevance of the kinetic shift into the budgets could increase to > 30% for sponge assemblages other than those in the bay whenever they are characterized by higher DSi availability, as is typically occurring at high latitudes and in the deep sea.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.