Growth performance of bath sponge (Spongia officinalis Linnaeus, 1759) farmed on suspended ropes in the Dardanelles (Turkey)

Abstract

Commercial bath sponge population in the Mediterranean has been recently reduced due to diseases and the depletion of natural banks. The commercial supply is far below the demand on the last10^15 years. In this study, we aimed to investigate the farming performance of Spongia o⁄cinalis in the Dardanelles. Sponges collected from the Dardanelles cut into pieces of di¡erent weight. They were divided into two groups depending on the wet weight ranging from 50 to150 g (mean weight 102.6 AE 4.81g) and from 160 to 360 g (mean weight 235.8 AE 8.56 g). Three rope systems located parallel to each other with 6^7 m inter-distance were constructed for the cultivation of sponges. At the end of the study, while small-sized sponges could reach mean wet weight of 120.7 AE 14.8 g, large-sized sponges reached mean wet weight of 247.6 AE 22.4 g. Growth rates were estimated 5^17% at 21st month. The survival rates were found 82% and 88%.

Sponge Farming Trials: Survival, Attachment, and Growth of Two Indo-Pacific Sponges,Neopetrosiasp. andStylissa massa

“…Duckworth [9] has shown that some sponge species (Latrunculia wellingtonensis and Polymastia croceus) can also recover totally from 90% removal of biomass. As other studies [5,22] have also shown, growth rates of Spongia officinalis between different sized explants are similar. Neopetrosia sp.…”

“…The higher sedimentation near the bottom leads to the block-up of ostia, causing the sponge to stop feeding and forcing all its energy toward cleaning [23]. For other sponge species like Spongia officinalis no significant differences in growth could be observed for different positions of transplants in the water column [22].…”

“…For S. massa all three methods (horizontal lines, coral boulders, and artificial substrate) have almost equal growth rates. The horizontal rope method was already successfully tested by de Voogd [8] on Callyspongia biru, an encrusting sponge, and for bath sponges by Corriero et al [5] and Ç elik et al [22]. The success of farming sponges requires the knowledge of the optimal environmental conditions of the cultured sponge species [9].…”

“…The growth behaviour of most sponge species is poorly understood; this study helps to contribute to a better understanding of sponge biology and also to provide information on suitable ways to reproduce sponges for reef rehabilitation, the aquarium trade, and biomedical research. In other studies, sponge farming experiments were conducted to produce bath sponges for cosmetic interest [5,9,22] or to receive bioactive metabolites [6,8,9,18]. The horizontal rope method and artificial substrates in the field Teluk Pegametan were shown to be the best method for growth, attachment, and survival rates of Neopetrosia…”

Transcriptome Changes during the Life Cycle of the Red Sponge, Mycale phyllophila (Porifera, Demospongiae, Poecilosclerida)

“…Although their exact phylogenetic location remains in question, sponges originated near the base of the metazoan phylogeny [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ], which thereby places them at a key transitional position for comparative analyses on the origins of animal body plans [ 11 ], developmental processes and life cycles [ 12 , 13 ], cell/tissue types and multicellularity [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ], and gene families and regulatory networks [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Sponges are also valued as sources of biological compounds and products with pharmaceutical and other practical benefits to humans [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”