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

Abstract

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...

The rise of harmful cyanobacteria blooms: The potential roles of eutrophication and climate change

“…Negative ecosystem impacts include anoxic events and increased light attenuation (Phlips and Badylak, 1996;Phlips et al, 1999), which has reduced the distribution of seagrass beds and corals communities (Hall et al, 1999). The blooms are also detrimental to fish (Boesch et al, 1993;Chasar et al, 2005), sponges (Butler et al, 1994;Peterson et al, 2006;Wall et al, 2011), and spiny lobsters (Butler et al, 1995). Synechococcus blooms are also known to inhibit zooplankton grazing due to the production of extracellular polysaccharides and/or cellular toxins such as MCY (Mitsui et al, 1989;Phlips et al, 1999;Carmichael and Li, 2006).…”

Host behavior alters spiny lobster–viral disease dynamics: a simulation study

“…Second, we examined the effect of habitat loss (i.e., sponge die-off caused by HAB) and the consequent increase in lobster aggregation on disease prevalence. Sponge die-offs were simulated in the area of the model that corresponded to those areas of Florida Bay that had experienced die-offs in recent years (Butler et al 1995, Peterson et al 2006, Stevely et al 2010, Wall et al 2012. For these simulations, HABs either occurred or did not.…”

“…For example, in 1991 and 2007, dense blooms of cyanobacteria (Synechococcus sp.) swept over large areas (;500 km 2 ) of Florida Bay and decimated the sponge community in the region (Butler et al 2005, Peterson et al 2006, Stevely et al 2010, Wall et al 2012, which is an important lobster nursery. Sponges are the primary shelter for juvenile lobsters in Florida, so following the sponge die-off, the only remaining shelters for lobsters were small coral heads and solution holes into which the juvenile lobsters then aggregated.…”

Using genetics to inform restoration and predict resilience in declining populations of a keystone marine sponge

“…Sponge communities in the Florida Keys have suffered a number of mass mortality events (Butler et al 1995;Stevely et al 2010;Wall et al 2012) associated with recurring blooms of the cyanobacteria Synechococcus spp. (Fourqurean and Robblee 1999;Berry et al 2015), as well as stochastic cold weather events (Colella et al 2012) and storm damage (Stevely et al 2010).…”

“…(Fourqurean and Robblee 1999;Berry et al 2015), as well as stochastic cold weather events (Colella et al 2012) and storm damage (Stevely et al 2010). These mass mortalities have had dramatic consequences for the ecosystem, including declines in local juvenile lobster populations (Butler et al 1995;Herrnkind et al 1997), increased susceptibility to further cyanobacterial blooms (Peterson et al 2006;Wall et al 2012) and diminished underwater soundscapes predicted to impact larval recruitment from a variety of taxa (Butler et al 2016). Furthermore, sponge population recovery is potentially forestalled by limited dispersal, as adults are sessile, and sponge larvae are generally short-lived, with larval durations of a few hours to a few days before settlement (Maldonado 2006;Maldonado and Riesgo 2008).…”