Potential role of sponge communities in controlling phytoplankton blooms in Florida Bay

Peterson, Bradley J.; Chester, Charles M.; Jochem, Frank J.; Fourqurean, James W.

doi:10.3354/meps328093

Cited by 97 publications

(133 citation statements)

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“…Sponges are also important in nitrogen cycling and release large amounts of dissolved inorganic nitrogen that may influence levels of primary production on coral reefs (Southwell et al 2008, Fiore et al 2013. Mass mortality of the Florida Bay sponge community resulted in an increase in the average water column turnover rate by as much as 12 d for some regions of the Bay and could account for the increased algal blooms reported there (Peterson et al 2006). More recently, sponges have been described as essential to the cycling of carbon on coral reefs via the 'sponge loop', whereby sponges consume dissolved organic matter and make carbon available to other reef fauna in the form of detritus (de Goeij et al 2013).…”

Section: Photo: Steven Mcmurraymentioning

confidence: 99%

Trait-mediated ecosystem impacts: how morphology and size affect pumping rates of the Caribbean giant barrel sponge

McMurray¹,

Pawlik²,

Finelli³

2014

Aquat. Biol.

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Section: Photo: Steven Mcmurraymentioning

confidence: 99%

Trait-mediated ecosystem impacts: how morphology and size affect pumping rates of the Caribbean giant barrel sponge

McMurray¹,

Pawlik²,

Finelli³

2014

Aquat. Biol.

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“…Cyano bacterial blooms in Florida Bay, perhaps combined with other environmental factors, seem to have disrupted pelagic (Goleski et al 2010) and possibly benthic (Peterson et al 2006) grazing in Florida Bay. Peterson et al (2006) found that sponge mortality in the north-central region of Florida Bay increased water column turnover time by sponge filtration from 3 d to 15 d, and this region of Florida Bay has experienced the most dense and persistent cyanobacterial blooms (Phlips et al 1999, Goleski et al 2010. To date, no study has considered how in situ changes in cyanobacteria blooms affect sponge populations in Florida Bay.…”

Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The root cause of these disturbances may be linked to human alterations of the freshwater flow in the Everglades, which is upstream of Florida Bay (Phlips et al 1999, Nuttle et al 2000. These ecological disruptions have resulted in widespread loss of benthic habitat for juvenile fish and spiny lobster (Robblee et al 1991, Butler et al 1995) and a loss of benthic filtration from suspensionfeeding sponges (Peterson et al 2006). These changes could initiate a 'regime shift' from a benthicdominated system to a pelagic-dominated system in some regions of Florida Bay (Chasar et al 2005), which is remarkable considering this system has an average depth of only 1 m (Nuttle et al 2000).…”

Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Loggerhead sponges were the focus of this study as they are the largest and most abundant sponge in Florida Bay (Peterson et al 2006, C. Wall pers. obs).…”

Section: Sponge Survivalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another hypothesis is that the transplanted sponges were stressed or damaged by the transplantation process and were not able to fully recover their water pumping functions. There are very few studies of the long-term responses of sponges to high particle loads or harmful algal blooms, so the degree to which sponges in affected regions of Florida Bay can adapt to and recover from persistent cyanobacterial blooms remains an open question.The loss of sponge community in Florida Bay could explain the persistence of cyanobacteria blooms (Peterson et al 2006) . This is consistent with our study, where we found that cyanobacteria intrinsic growth rates were ~1 d , and all had loggerhead sponge community grazing rates insufficient to keep pace with cyanobacteria growth rates (Figs.…”

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Responses of loggerhead sponges Spechiospongia vesparium during harmful cyanobacterial blooms in a sub-tropical lagoon

Wall¹,

Rodgers²,

Gobler³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Shallow, coastal lagoons are vulnerable to eutrophication and harmful algal blooms, often due to the loss of benthic suspension feeders. Florida Bay, USA, is a sub-tropical lagoon that has suffered from a series of ecological disturbances, including cyanobacterial blooms, loss of seagrass habitat, and widespread sponge mortality. A field study was executed at sites across Florida Bay to investigate effects of cyanobacterial blooms of the genus Synechococcus on the suspensionfeeding loggerhead sponge Spheciospongia vesparium. In situ measurements of loggerhead sponge survival, water pumping rates, and particle retention were made over the course of a year under both bloom and non-bloom conditions and for naturally-occurring and transplanted sponges. The mortality of transplanted loggerhead sponges significantly increased following cyanobacterial blooms. Sponge water pumping rates, particle retention, and filtration rates were depressed in areas where cyanobacteria blooms were present. When loggerhead sponge community filtration rates were compared with cyanobacteria intrinsic growth rates, sites with low abundances of sponges had persistent, dense blooms and harbored positive net growth rates for cyanobacteria (0.78 to 1.45 d −1 ). In contrast, sites with high abundances of sponges had few or no blooms and net growth rates for cyanobacteria that were slow or negative (−0.17 to 0.24 d −1 ). This suggests that the loss of filtration from sponge mortality in Florida Bay has contributed to the persistence of algal blooms. Restoration of benthic suspension feeders such as sponges could be an important management tool to mitigate algal blooms in shallow coastal lagoons, although survival of transplanted populations will likely require concurrent improvement of water quality by other means since blooms inhibit sponge pumping, particle retention, and filtration.KEY WORDS: Florida Bay · Sponges · Spheciospongia vesparia · Loggerhead sponge · Cyanobacteria · Synechococcus · Harmful algal bloom Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 451: [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] 2012 2001), the loss of benthic suspension feeders from such a system likely represents a more significant loss of top-down control than for deeper, well-flushed ecosystems.Florida Bay, USA, is a shallow, sub-tropical lagoon between mainland Florida and the Florida Keys; it is the largest estuary in Florida, valuable for recreation and fisheries, and adjacent to the sensitive habitats of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Everglades National Park. Since the late 1980s, Florida Bay has been affected by a series of ecological disruptions, including sponge die-offs (Butler et al. 1995), blooms of the cyanobacteria Synechococcus spp. (Phlips et al. 1999), and seagrass mortality (Robblee et al. 1991). The root cause of these disturbances may be linked to human alterations of the freshwater flow in the Everglades, which is upstream of Florida Bay (Phlips e...

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Targeted predator defenses of sponges shape community organization and tropical marine ecosystem function

Wulff

2021

Ecological Monographs

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Defenses that target particular consumers often influence community organization, ecosystem function, and diversity maintenance. In coral reef, mangrove, and seagrass ecosystems, sponges affect substratum stability, water clarity, diversity of associated species, and survival of habitat-providing organisms, key roles not duplicated by other organisms. Whether and how predators control sponges are much disputed. Substantial ecosystem consequences of losing or gaining sponges motivated definitive experiments on how predators control sponge distribution and abundance. Caribbean sponges of 94 species representing 13 taxonomic orders and three linked habitats (coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass meadows) were exposed to seven predator species representing different habitats and degrees of spongivory in 4,493 in situ trials. The resulting data force reassessment of popular interpretations of several patterns and processes. Contrary to extract pellet assays that declare most sponges deterrent, 78% of these 94 species were eaten by at least one predator. But "palatability" is consumer dependent: a sponge species eaten by one predator can be rejected by other predators, and predator species differed in what sponges they ate in 55.4% (214/392) of pairwise comparisons between predators. Because spongivore species are usually restricted to particular habitats, they impose abrupt boundaries on sponges' habitat distributions, reflecting inverse relationships between accessibility and palatability to each predator. Thus a seagrass-dwelling starfish eats only 9% of seagrass sponge species, but 70% of coral reef species, and 78% of mangrove species. Reef-dwelling angelfishes completely consume only 13% of reef species, but 29% of seagrass species, and 63% of mangrove species. Defenses that target specific predators reveal that spongivore influence on community organization cannot be inferred from extract pellet/ omnivore assays that assume defenses target all predators equally. In fact, pellet data wrongly predicted actual consumption of living sponges of that pellet's species in 43% of field experiments with spongivores. In contrast with herbivore-plant interactions, opportunistic spongivory is at least as important as routine spongivory for community organization and ecosystem function. Potential for loss of key functional roles of sponges, if opportunistic predators gain access to sponge species that lack defenses against them, must inform conservation plans for coral reef, mangrove, and seagrass ecosystems.

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Potential role of sponge communities in controlling phytoplankton blooms in Florida Bay

Cited by 97 publications

References 21 publications

Trait-mediated ecosystem impacts: how morphology and size affect pumping rates of the Caribbean giant barrel sponge

Trait-mediated ecosystem impacts: how morphology and size affect pumping rates of the Caribbean giant barrel sponge

Responses of loggerhead sponges Spechiospongia vesparium during harmful cyanobacterial blooms in a sub-tropical lagoon

Targeted predator defenses of sponges shape community organization and tropical marine ecosystem function

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