Delimiting boundaries between species: excavating sponges close to Cliona mucronata (Demospongiae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 573-591
Author(s):  
Cristian PAcheco ◽  
José Luis Carballo ◽  
JosÉ Antonio Cruz-Barraza ◽  
Christine Hanna Lydia Schönberg ◽  
Barbara Calcinai
Keyword(s):  
Excavating Sponges

scholarly journals ECOLOGÍA QUÍMICA DE LAS ESPONJAS EXCAVADORAS CLIONA APRICA, C. CARIBBAEA, C. DELITRIX Y C. TENUIS

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andia Chaves Fonnegra ◽  
Mateo López Victoria ◽  
Fernando Parra Velandia ◽  
Sven Zea
Keyword(s):  
Larval Settlement ◽  
Coral Tissue ◽  
Live Coral ◽  
Stegastes Partitus ◽  
Excavating Sponges ◽  
Natural Concentration ◽  
Experimental Media ◽  
Organic Extracts ◽  
Fouling Organisms ◽  
San Andres

The Caribbean encrusting and excavating sponges Cliona aprica, C. caribbaea, C. delitrix and C. tenuis (Porifera, Hadromerida, Clionaidae), aggresively undermine and displace live coral tissue. At San Andrés island and Islas del Rosario (Colombian Caribbean), in all 145 observed cases of direct contact of the sponges C. aprica, C. caribbaea and C. tenuis with 17 coral species, corals showed unhealthy signs in their tissue. It was also noticed that the surface of these sponges is colonized by few organisms and that they are rarely preyed upon. To establish the possible use of chemical substances by these sponges in competition for space with corals (allelopathy), as inhibitors of larval settlement (antifouling), and as feeding deterrents against generalist fish (antipredatory), the activity of crude organic extracts was experimentally evaluated. Extracts were prepared in methanol and 1:2 metanol:dichloromethane and incorporated in experimental media at the natural concentration within the sponges. Using an unpublished method being developed by J. Pawlik (University of North Caroline at Wilmington) and M. Ilan (Tel Aviv University), PhytagelTM disks with crude extracts of each of the four sponge species, placed on the coral Montastrea cavernosa, produced a greater degree of polyp mortality than control gels without extract. Gels with extracts of the sponges C. aprica and C. caribbaea + C. tenuis, served in Petri dishes and used as substratum in the field, inhibited significantly the settlement of fouling organisms, in comparison to control gels. In laboratory trials, wheat flour pellets with extracts C. delitrix and C. caribbaea + C. tenuis were significantly rejected by the omnivore reef damselfish, Stegastes partitus, whereas pellets with extract of C. aprica did not deter feeding. These results suggest that substances present in the crude organic extracts of these sponges may be responsible in part for their ability to compete for reef substrata and to defend themselves from potential aggressors.

scholarly journals The excavating sponges of the Santa Marta area, Colombia, with description of a new species

1992 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 205-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline C. Hofman ◽  
Margriet Kielman
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Scuba Diving ◽  
The Other ◽  
Excavating Sponges ◽  
A New Species

From June till December 1987 an inventory of the excavating sponges of the Santa Marta area, Colombian Caribbean, was made by scuba diving to depths not exceeding 18 m. Sixteen species were recorded and compared morphologically,using spicule sizes, papillae shapes, and excavation characteristics. Four little-known species are fully described and illustrated by submarine color photographs in situ. One appears to be a new species: Axinyssa flavolivescens, belonging to a genus not known to excavate so far. The other three species could not be identified with certainty: Aka aff. xamaycaensis, Aka aff. brevitubulata, and Cliona aff. flavifodina. A key to the excavating sponges of the area studied is provided.

scholarly journals Infestation by excavating sponges on the oyster (Ostrea edulis) populations of the Blanes littoral zone (north-western Mediterranean Sea)

1999 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolors Rosell ◽  
Maria-Jesús Uriz ◽  
Daniel Martin
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Littoral Zone ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Ostrea Edulis ◽  
Oyster Population ◽  
The North ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Excavating Sponges ◽  
Cliona Celata ◽  
North Western

In order to estimate the degree of implantation of excavating sponges in the oyster populations from the littoral zone at Blanes (north-western Mediterranean Sea), a representative sample of oysters (Ostrea edulis) was collected from depths between 0.5 and 4 m in 1986. All oysters were infested by the excavating sponges Cliona viridis and Cliona celata. Infestation affected always and exclusively the lower valve always reaching the inner side. The degree of infestation proved to be independent of oyster size and weight. Colonization by contact was considered the main means of dispersion of these sponges within the oyster population. Cliona viridis and C. celata emerged as the single excavating species able to effectively compete with other non-excavating or excavating organisms when trying to colonize the particular calcareous substrate provided by oyster shells in the north-western Mediterranean Sea.

scholarly journals Asynchronous reproduction and multi-spawning in the coral-excavating sponge Cliona delitrix

2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 515-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andia Chaves-Fonnegra ◽  
Manuel Maldonado ◽  
Patricia Blackwelder ◽  
Jose V. Lopez
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Cycle ◽  
Full Moon ◽  
Seawater Temperature ◽  
Coral Mortality ◽  
Multiple Spawning ◽  
Excavating Sponges ◽  
Male Gametes ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Reef Health ◽  
Granulose Cells

Cliona delitrix is one of the most abundant and destructive coral-excavating sponges on Caribbean reefs. However, basic aspects of its reproductive biology, which largely determine the species propagation potential, remain unknown. A 2-year study (October 2009 to September 2011) was conducted to determine the reproductive cycle and gametogenesis of a C. delitrix population located in a shallow reef in Florida, USA. Mesohyl tissue collected from randomly chosen and tagged sponge individuals was sampled one to several times a month, and analysed by light and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cliona delitrix is oviparous and gonochoric, except for a few simultaneous hermaphroditic individuals. The C. delitrix reproductive cycle in Florida is from April to December, and is triggered by an increase in seawater temperature to 25°C. Oogenesis and spermatogenesis were asynchronous among individuals; with different cohorts of oocytes co-occurring in females, and spermatic cysts in males. Granulose cells acted as nurse cells, contributing to the growth and maturation of both female and male gametes. Spawning of gametes was not always synchronized with full moon phase. Unlike most other oviparous sponges, the reproductive cycle of C. delitrix is versatile and includes multiple spawning events during the summer of each year. This characteristic maximizes sponge propagation on coral reefs during the warmer months of the year, particularly when thermal stress induces coral mortality. This aspect, combined with its success on polluted areas, make C. delitrix a suitable bioindicator of coral reef health.

Excavating sponges from the Adriatic Sea: description ofCliona adriaticasp. nov. (Demospongiae: Clionaidae) and estimation of its boring activity

2010 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Calcinai ◽  
G. Bavestrello ◽  
G. Cuttone ◽  
C. Cerrano
Keyword(s):  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
Sampling Methods ◽  
Destructive Sampling ◽  
Excavating Sponges ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Boring Sponge ◽  
Sponge Diversity ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Non Destructive ◽  
Rocky Bottoms

Boring sponge diversity in the area of the Conero Promontory, the most important rocky emergence on the west coast of the Adriatic Sea (Italy), was assessed. Four species were recorded; one of them,Cliona adriatica, is new and is described here. The new species differs from all the other excavating sponge species, characterized by yellow papillae and lacking or scarcity of microscleres, in the large size of the boring chambers and the presence of numerous styles.Cliona adriaticais present on about 12% of the surface of rocky bottoms in the Conero Promontory area. The impact of this highly destructive species on the carbonatic micritic rock of the promontory was evaluated calculating a relationship between the volume of the boring chambers and the surface of the epilithic portions. Consequently, it was estimated that 1 cm2of epilithic tissue corresponds to 8.5 g of excavated rock. The recorded correlation between the excavated volume and the area of the papillar zone (roughly the area of the substratum affected by the erosion) allows an estimation of the substratum removed by a boring sponge, using only visually oriented, non-destructive, sampling methods.

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