Sponges as “living hotels” in Mediterranean marine caves

Gerovasileiou, Vasilis; Chintiroglou, Chariton; Konstantinou, Despoina; Voultsiadou, Eleni

doi:10.3989/scimar.04403.14b

Cited by 41 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…2 and 3), belonging to the Phyla Arthropoda, Annelida, Mollusca, Nematoda, and Echinodermata with the most abundant classes represented by Crustacea and Polychaeta (Table 1). The taxonomic resolution, to the ordinal rank yielded similar patterns and associated taxa between C. lutea and other sponges belonging to the class Demospongiae, with crustaceans being the most abundant (Pease 1950; Pansini 1970; Rützler 1976; Koukouras et al 1985; Voultsiadou-Koukoura et al 1987; Villamizar and Laughlin 1991; Koukouras et al 1992; Ribeiro et al 2003; Skilleter et al 2005; Abdo 2007; Palpandi et al 2007; Huang et al 2008; Greene 2008; Schejter et al 2012; Kersken et al 2014; and Gerovasileiou et al 2016). However, several other studies reported in Appendix 1 of Schejter et al (2012) found Polychaetes to be the most abundant associated organisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Sponges have been called ‘living hotels’ (Pearse 1932; 1950; Gerovasileiou et al 2016), ‘living islands’ (Villamizar & Laughlin 1991) and ‘microcosms’ (Uriz et al 1992); where different levels of interactions between host and colonizers are occurring simultaneously, often dependent upon the aquiferous system and morphology of the sponge (Koukouras et al 1992; 1996). Long (1968) summarized these relationships into four groups: (1) inquilinism, or lodging, within or upon the sponges, (2) co-existence of two organisms on the same substratum because of simultaneous growth, (3) predation or grazing; and (4) mutualism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Associated organisms inhabiting the calcareous spongeClathrina luteain La Parguera Natural Reserve, Puerto Rico

García-Hernández

Hammerman

Cruz‐Motta

et al. 2019

Preprint

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21Sponges provide an array of ecological services and benefits for Caribbean coral reefs. They 22 function as habitats for a bewildering variety of species, however limited attention has been paid 23 in the systematics and distribution of sponge-associated fauna in the class Calcarea or for that 24 matter of sponges in the Caribbean. The goal of this study was to characterize infaunal assemblages 25 from a calcareous sponge, Clathrina lutea, across multiple reefs from the La Parguera Natural 26Reserve, Puerto Rico. The associated fauna from 43 C. lutea specimens yielded a total of 2,249 27 associated infauna distributed in seven invertebrate phyla. Arthropoda was the most abundant 28 phylum accounting for 62.5% of total abundance, followed by Annelida (21.0%) and Nematoda 29 (5.5%). Limited patterns of temporal or spatial variability were surmised due to the opportunistic 30 sampling effort afforded to this investigation from the cryptic nature of this species. A concordance 31 between our data set and those for the class Demospongiae were observed, with the most abundant 32 associated fauna being copepods and polychaetes. However, when compared to other Calcarea, 33 the present study found considerably more associated fauna. 34 35

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associated organisms inhabiting the calcareous spongeClathrina luteain La Parguera Natural Reserve, Puerto Rico

García-Hernández

Hammerman

Cruz‐Motta

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…Sponges are important habitat builders in the Mediterranean, creating complex three-dimensional structures, attracting fish and invertebrates by increasing the number and complexity of available microhabitats, providing refuge from predators, and serving as spawning and nursery grounds (Hogg et al, 2010;Beazley et al, 2013;Bo et al, 2012). They support local species richness and diversity and provide diverse ecosystem services, thus serving as environmental engineers Gerovasileiou et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mesophotic sponge grounds are often situated on patchy hard substrata surrounded by unstable soft bottom (Hogg et al, 2010) and, as such, they constitute an oasis of local richness and diversity . In such habitats sponges frequently act as environmental engineers by increasing the structural complexity and creating niches for both invertebrates and fish Gerovasileiou et al, 2016). Hard-bottom substrate has an ecological, scientific, and economic importance due to its complex structure, which is able to support rich communities (Maldonado et al, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shedding light on an East-Mediterranean mesophotic sponge ground community and the regional sponge fauna

et al. 2018

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Sponges are a diverse and abundant phylum, globally occupying many hard-bottom habitats. However, data on East-Mediterranean sponge communities are scarce, outdated, and mostly concern the shallow waters. This study aimed to expand the knowledge on poriferan fauna along Israel's Mediterranean coast. A newly-discovered mesophotic sponge ground at ~100 m depth was studied using a Remotely-Operated Vehicle, while shallow-water surveys were conducted by scuba diving. In this mesophotic ecosystem, sponges serve as environmental engineers, creating complex 3D structures that attract invertebrates and fish. Quantitative surveys of the mesophotic sponge ground revealed a rich and diverse sponge community with a high percentage cover (~35%). Several mesophotic species are reported for the first time from the Levantine Sea, while others might be novel species. Here we report 111 sponge species along the Mediterranean coast of Israel (from our current surveys and previous studies), 36 of which were collected from the mesophotic habitat. The updated sponge list supports the hypothesis that the sponge diversity in the Levantine Sea is not as species-poor as previously considered. A comparison of the sponge community composition between the shallow waters and the mesophotic depth revealed only partial overlap, with merely a few species thriving along the entire depth range. The mesophotic habitat was found to harbor some species that seem to have disappeared from the shallow habitats decades ago, suggesting that the former may serve as refugia for species stressed by rising temperatures in shallow waters, and that this deeper habitat thus require protection from negative anthropogenic influences.

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“…VMEs are considered hotspots of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the deep sea, with elevated faunal abundance, biomass, richness, and diversity in VMEs compared to surrounding habitats (Bett and Rice, 1992;Edinger et al, 2007;van Oevelen et al, 2009;Hogg et al, 2010;Barrio Froján et al, 2012;Beazley et al, 2013Beazley et al, , 2015. This can largely be attributed to the presence of structure-forming taxa in VMEs, which greatly elevates the physical heterogeneity of VME habitat relative to surrounding soft sediments, providing an enhanced number and diversity of microhabitats to associated metazoans and microbes (Klitgaard, 1995;Thrush et al, 1998;Buhl-Mortensen and Mortensen, 2005;Tissot et al, 2006;Wulff, 2006;Fuller et al, 2008;Rogers et al, 2008;Buhl-Mortensen et al, 2010;Gerovasileiou et al, 2016). The skeletal remains of hexactinellid poriferans represent an important deep-sea habitat, acting to stabilise seafloor sediments and inhibit colonisation by some infaunal taxa.…”

Section: The Value Of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Influence of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem Habitats on Peracarid Crustacean Assemblages in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation Regulatory Area

et al. 2019

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Vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are considered hotspots of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the deep sea, but are also characterised by a high vulnerability to disturbance and a low recovery potential. Since 2006, a series of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions have been developed, attempting to ensure the protection of VMEs in international waters. In the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) Regulatory Area, large areas of seabed have been closed to bottom-contact fishing to protect VMEs. However, knowledge of the influence of VME-indicator taxa on macrofaunal assemblages, and the appropriateness of current fishery closures for protecting macrofaunal biodiversity in this area is limited. Here we investigate relationships between the prevalence of VME-indicator taxa [poriferans (sponges), gorgonian corals, and pennatulaceans (sea pens)] and an extensive suite of peracarid crustacean biodiversity metrics in the NAFO Regulatory Area. We also examine whether the current NAFO VME closures protect areas of significantly elevated peracarid diversity. Of the VME-indicator taxa analysed, poriferans were found to have by far the greatest influence over peracarid assemblages. Assemblage structure was altered, and peracarid abundance, biomass, richness, diversity, and variability were enhanced in areas of elevated poriferan biomass, whilst assemblage evenness was slightly depressed in these areas. These findings reaffirm the perception of poriferans as crucial components of VMEs. In contrast, gorgonian coral density had little influence over the faunal assemblages investigated, perhaps reflecting their relatively low prevalence in the study area. Similarly, pennatulaceans were found to influence peracarid assemblages only weakly. This too may reflect a moderately low density of Pennatulacea in the study area. Our results highlight that the application of taxon distribution model outputs to ecological investigations and management decisions in data-limited environments should be treated with caution. Finally, our results indicate that the current system of fishery closures in the NAFO Regulatory Area may not be optimal in terms of providing adequate protection to VMEs against the impacts of bottom trawling.

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Sponges as “living hotels” in Mediterranean marine caves

Cited by 41 publications

References 31 publications

Associated organisms inhabiting the calcareous spongeClathrina luteain La Parguera Natural Reserve, Puerto Rico

Associated organisms inhabiting the calcareous spongeClathrina luteain La Parguera Natural Reserve, Puerto Rico

Shedding light on an East-Mediterranean mesophotic sponge ground community and the regional sponge fauna

On the Influence of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem Habitats on Peracarid Crustacean Assemblages in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation Regulatory Area

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