Spicular analysis of surficial sediments as a supplementary tool for studies of modern sponge communities

Łukowiak, Magdalena

doi:10.1186/s10152-016-0459-6

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The genus Vetulina is an example of a disjunct distribution (Caribbean and Eastern Indian Ocean or even SW Pacific) also reported for some other sponges (Carvalho et al 2015;Łukowiak 2016), brachiopods (Bitner et al 2008;Bitner and Motchurova-Dekova 2016), ostracods (Iglikowska and Boxshall 2013) and other crustacean fauna (Jaume and Humphreys 2001;Hoenemann et al 2013). The key event causing this species isolation is the closure of the Tethyan Seaway in the late Early Miocene (Rögl 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First record of the genus Vetulina Schmidt, 1879 (Porifera: Demospongiae: Sphaerocladina) from the Indian Ocean with the description of two new species: biogeographic and evolutionary significance

et al. 2017

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Two new species of the genus Vetulina Schmidt, 1879 (Demospongiae, Vetulinidae, Sphaerocladina) were found off the coast of Western Australia (Indian Ocean). This genus is characterized by acrepid polyaxial desmas (sphaeroclones) equipped with arborescent branched outgrowths with spine-like processes and isometric styles as microscleres. Vetulina indica sp. nov. is an irregular, laterally folded ear-shaped cup with smooth surfaces, and V. rugosa sp. nov. is similar in shape but with a distinctive ribbed inner surface. Both species are very similar in spicule composition, but are distinguished by their gross morphology and pattern of canal openings on the surface. Despite the fact that we could not distinguish the two specimens based on molecular (CO1) data, we consider them as two separate species based on the morphological species concept. Our molecular phylogeny confirms again that Vetulina is sister to spongillids (freshwater sponges). This is the first occurrence of this genus outside the Caribbean Atlantic, and the first report from the Indian Ocean. Such a disjunct distribution is considered here to be a relict of a once widely distributed sponge population in the ancient Tethys Sea.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First record of the genus Vetulina Schmidt, 1879 (Porifera: Demospongiae: Sphaerocladina) from the Indian Ocean with the description of two new species: biogeographic and evolutionary significance

et al. 2017

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“…They can detect the presence of extant sponges that can be easily overlooked due to their small size, or cryptic or excavating nature. For instance, Łukowiak (2016b) focused on the sponge spicules from the lagoon reef of Bocas del Toro, Panama, and noticed the presence of highly diagnostic spicules belonging to cryptic and excavating sponges that had not been noted from that area before. Similar studies can be performed in freshwater habitats to consider the history the sponge communities ( Wilkins et al, 1991 ) or of individual sponge taxa ( Hall & Herrmann, 1980 ).…”

Section: Survey Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The method is still somewhat vaguely defined, largely “qualitative”, and relies on one’s expertise (the knowledge of spicule morphologies, distribution, and variation within and among sponge taxa); though larger-scale “spicular analyses” occasionally involve quantitative methods ( Bertolino et al, 2014 ). In the case of morphologically characteristic spicules that appear in a limited number of taxa or are unique to a single species, the taxonomic assignment may be easy and the newly-obtained information unambiguous ( Łukowiak, 2016b ). In most cases, however, spicule assessments are challenging and the “spicular analysis” leads to several possible explanations for the observed spicule composition, especially when dealing with environments that show evidence for selective preservation (or removal of some components) or bear traces of transport over some distance.…”

Section: Survey Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mineral composition of sponge spicules makes these structures the most resistant parts of the sponge bodies ( Uriz, 2006 ) and ensures the ability of spicules to withstand various taphonomic processes ( Rützler & Macintyre, 1978 ; Łukowiak, Pisera & O’Dea, 2013 ), resulting in that they often constitute the only evidence of the presence of some sponges in an ecosystem ( Łukowiak, 2016b ). Even though sponges are often known from rich assemblages of bodily-preserved specimens ( Volkmer-Ribeiro & Reitner, 1991 ; Olszewska-Nejbert & Świerczewska-Gładysz, 2013 ; Łukowiak & Pisera, 2016 ), a significant part of their fossil and subfossil record is also represented by their spicules.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Utilizing sponge spicules in taxonomic, ecological and environmental reconstructions: a review

Łukowiak¹

2020

PeerJ

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Most sponges produce skeletons formed by spicules, structural elements that develop in a wide variety of sizes and tridimensional shapes. The morphologies of spicules are often unique to clade- or even species-level taxa which makes them particularly useful in taxonomic assignments. When dead sponge bodies disintegrate, spicules become incorporated into sediments and sometimes accumulate into enormous agglomerations called spicule mats or beds, or fossilize to form special type of rocks called the spiculites. The record of fossil and subfossil sponge spicules is extraordinarily rich and often serves as a basis for far-reaching reconstructions of sponge communities, though spicules are also bearers of significant ecological and environmental information. Specific requirements and preferences of sponges can be used to interpret the environment in which they lived, and reconstruct oscillations in water depths, pH, temperatures, and other parameters, providing snapshots of past climate conditions. In turn, the silicon isotope compositions in spicules (δ30Si) are being increasingly often used to estimate the level of silicic acid in the marine settings throughout the geological history, which enables to reconstruct the past silica cycle and ocean circulation. This contribution provides a review of the use of sponge spicules in reconstructions of sponge communities, their ecology, and environments, and aims to detect the pertinent gaps in their utilization. Even though spicules are well known for their significance as bearers of taxonomic, ecological, and environmental data, their potential remains to be fully exploited.

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“…Modern S . anonymus has been recorded from shallow depths (up to 50 m; van Soest & Hooper 2002) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the eastern coast of South America (Colombia, Brazil, Bermuda, and the Caribbean; Łukowiak 2016 b ; van Soest et al . 2021), the coasts of East and West Africa (van Soest et al .…”

Section: Systematic Palaeontologymentioning

confidence: 99%

High diversity of siliceous sponges in Western Tethyan areas during the Eocene: palaeobiogeographical, ecological and taxonomic significance

Łukowiak

Pisera

Stefanska

et al. 2021

Papers in Palaeontology

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Porifera is a clade of globally distributed, early diverging metazoans that are important components of modern aquatic environments. Despite the fact that they were also abundant in the geological past, their fossil record is uneven. For example, little is known about sponge communities that inhabited the Tethyan areas during the Cenozoic. Here, we record an abundant and taxonomically diverse assemblage of middle–late Eocene sponges from east‐central Ukraine. The material consists of preserved whole‐body specimens as well as disassociated spicules. The taxonomic composition of this new assemblage, supplemented with previously published data obtained from sponge materials originating from the middle and upper Eocene of the East European Platform, documents a surprisingly rich sponge community that inhabited shallow waters (depths of 100 m) and comprised at least 30 demosponge species, including two new taxa, Paratetilla milanek Łukowiak and Theonella alexandriae Łukowiak, three hexactinellids and a single homoscleromorph. Additionally, we report the first fossil occurrence of Vetulina, a demosponge genus that currently is found near the Philippines and Australia and in the Caribbean Sea. Some of the sponge taxa recognized were previously noted from the upper Eocene of Australia and New Zealand. This is indicative of their wide distribution during the early Cenozoic and also shows that a non‐interrupted connection existed between the western Tethyan and peri‐Australian areas, explaining the patchy distribution of some sponge taxa in modern seas.

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Spicular analysis of surficial sediments as a supplementary tool for studies of modern sponge communities

Cited by 8 publications

References 39 publications

First record of the genus Vetulina Schmidt, 1879 (Porifera: Demospongiae: Sphaerocladina) from the Indian Ocean with the description of two new species: biogeographic and evolutionary significance

First record of the genus Vetulina Schmidt, 1879 (Porifera: Demospongiae: Sphaerocladina) from the Indian Ocean with the description of two new species: biogeographic and evolutionary significance

Utilizing sponge spicules in taxonomic, ecological and environmental reconstructions: a review

High diversity of siliceous sponges in Western Tethyan areas during the Eocene: palaeobiogeographical, ecological and taxonomic significance

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