Short Communication: Diversity of sponges associated in seagrass meadows at coastal area of Pacitan District, East Java, Indonesia

Setiawan E, Chodiantoro MR, Insany GF, Subagio IB, Dewi NK, Muzaki FK. 2021. Short Communication: Diversity of sponges associated in seagrass meadows at coastal area of Pacitan District, East Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 3105-3112. Sponges are sessile organisms and aquatic filter feeders that play an important role in marine ecosystems. They are also secondary metabolite compounds that exhibit promising novel properties. Indonesia has been categorized as a hot spot for sponge diversity. Despite this fact, some Indonesian coastal areas, especially in the southern area of East Java, have not yet been comprehensively explored to understand its diversity and potential value. For this reason, we investigated species richness of sponges associated with seagrass meadows in the southern coastal area of Pacitan District, in East Java. Seagrass meadows are important coastal areas that have been recognized as buffer zones for sustainable marine conservation because it provides safe shelter and acts as a nursery for many fishes and other invertebrates, including sponges. We identified 16 genera out of 12 families from two selected beaches in Pacitan. Boring sponges belonging to the Clionaidea family were dominant in those areas, covering more than 20 percent of the total recorded specimens. Moreover, conspicuous boring sponges in this study can be used for further environment alert since this group plays a vital role and negatively impacts destroying the calcium carbonate of marine organisms.

Mediterranean Coral Provinces as a Sponge Diversity Reservoir: Is There a Mediterranean Cold-Water Coral Sponge Fauna?

Cold-water coral reefs (CWC) are known to be biodiversity hotspots, however, the sponge assemblages found to dwell within these habitats haven not been studied in depth to date in the Mediterranean Sea. The present article provides the first insight on the associated sponge fauna of the recently discovered CWC communities on the Catalan Margin and, to a lesser extent, the Cabliers Coral Mound Province, while also reviewing the current knowledge of the sponge fauna dwelling in all the Mediterranean CWC provinces. In regards to the studied areas, some rare species are cited for the first time in the Mediterranean or redescribed, while two of them, Hamacantha (Hamacantha) hortae sp. nov. and Spongosorites cabliersi sp. nov. are new to science. At a basin scale, Mediterranean CWC appear as poriferan biodiversity hotspots, yet current diversity values on each site rather represent a small fraction of its actual fauna. Additionally, the existence of an endemic sponge fauna exclusively dwelling on CWC is refuted. Nonetheless, the sponge fauna thriving in Mediterranean CWC appears to be unique, and different from that of other Atlantic regions. Finally, with the current knowledge, the sponge fauna from the Mediterranean CWC is grouped in three distinguishable clusters (Alboran Sea, Western and Eastern Mediterranean), which appears to be determined by the basins water circulation, specially the Levantine Intermediate Water and the Atlantic Water following a western-eastern pattern from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Adriatic Sea. Overall, sponge living in Mediterranean CWC are still poorly explored in most areas, yet they appear to be good candidates for biogeographical studies.Zoobank Registration: LSID urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E58A3DFF-EDC5-44FC-A274-1C9508BF8D15.

Four new Scopalina from Southern California: the first Scopalinida (Porifera: Demospongiae) from the temperate Eastern Pacific

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are common inhabitants of kelp forest ecosystems in California, but their diversity and ecological importance are poorly characterized in this biome. Here I use freshly collected samples to describe the diversity of the order Scopalinida in California. Though previously unknown in the region, four new species are described here: Scopalina nausicae sp. nov., S. kuyamu sp. nov., S. goletensis sp. nov., and S. jali sp. nov.. These discoveries illustrate the considerable uncharacterized sponge diversity remaining in California kelp forests, and the utility of SCUBA-based collection to improve our understanding of this diversity.

New records of Demospongiae (Porifera) from Reserva Marina El Pelado (Santa Elena, Ecuador), with description of Tedania (Tedania) ecuadoriensis sp. nov.

The first taxonomic descriptions of the sponge diversity at El Pelado Marine Protected Area in the province of Santa Elena, Ecuador is reported. Tedania (Tedania) ecuadoriensis Jaramillo & Hajdu, sp. nov. is described from its shallow waters. In addition, Callyspongia (Callyspongia) aff. californica (sensuCruz-Barraza and Carballo 2008; nonsensuDickinson 1945) and Cliona aff. euryphylle are reported for the first time. The former species is likely distributed over 4,000 km along the Tropical Eastern Pacific, whereas the latter might be an example of a trans-isthmian lineage. An amended diagnosis for Callyspongia (Callyspongia) and an updated identification key for the subgenera of Callyspongia are provided.

Macrofauna Inhabiting Massive Demosponges From Shallow and Mesophotic Habitats Along the Israeli Mediterranean Coast

Sponges have long been considered as “living hotels” due to the great diversity and abundance of other taxonomic groups often found in association with them. Sponges are the dominant components of benthic communities in the Levant Sea; and especially in the recently discovered mesophotic sponge grounds off the coast of Israel. However, almost no data exist regarding their associated macrofauna. The current study sought to identify the macrofauna associated with massive sponges along the Israeli Mediterranean coast; and to compare the role of sponges, as ecosystem engineers, or “living hotels,” in both the shallow-water and mesophotic habitats. Sixty-four massive sponge specimens, from 10 different species, were collected from shallow and mesophotic habitats by SCUBA diving and Remotely Operated Vehicle, respectively. Sponge volume was estimated, specimens were dissected, and the associated macrofauna were identified. Our results reveal that the sponges supported a diverse assemblage of associated macrofauna. A total of 61 associated taxa were found, including species reported for the first time in Israel. A clear, differentiation existed in the structure of the associated assemblage between the two habitats, which is mainly attributed to four species (two polychaetes, a crustacean, and a brittle star). The trophic composition remained stable across the two habitats. No correlation was found between sponge volume and the associated fauna community parameters. The highest richness of associated fauna was found in the mesophotic habitat, where sponge diversity is also higher. In contrast, a greater endobiont abundance and density were recorded in the shallow habitat, where massive sponges may be a limiting factor due to their lower richness and abundance. Our findings emphasize the importance of sponges as ecosystem engineers, and suggest that sponge diversity may be an important factor that contribute to benthic biodiversity in these regions.

New records of Indo-Pacific sponges from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

Six Indo-Pacific sponges are recorded for the first time from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Agelas ceylonica sensu Thomas, 1981, Axinella donnani (Bowerbank, 1873), Dragmacidon australe (Bergquist, 1970), Siphonodictyon maldiviense (Calcinai, Cerrano, Sarà & Bavestrello, 2000), Clathrina clara Klautau & Valentine, 2003 and Plakortis bergquistae Muricy, 2011. Among them, D. australe, S. maldiviense and P. bergquistae are indeed new records to India. These findings not only represent new additions to sponge fauna of India, but also highlight the importance of markedly overlooked sponge diversity of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Indo-Pacific Phylogeography of the Lemon Sponge Leucetta chagosensis

The sponge Leucetta chagosensis Dendy (1913) has a wide distribution throughout the Indo-Pacific (IP) region, with previous studies focussing primarily on the western Pacific Ocean. To increase our knowledge of the spatial variation of genetic diversity throughout the IP, we constructed a phylogeny for L. chagosensis for the IP to assess the evolutionary patterns for this species. We generated 188 sequences of L. chagosensis and constructed maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference trees, using concatenated mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 3 gene (cox3) and nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (28S) markers for the first time. The spatial variation of genetic diversity of L. chagosensis was assessed using a phylogeographic approach. Leucetta chagosensis is composed of five cryptic lineages confined to different biogeographic regions with the specimens found in the Indian Ocean differing significantly from those found in the rest of the IP region. Genetic divergence was particularly high for the cox3 marker, with a low nucleotide diversity but high haplotype diversity for most lineages. This study highlights the need for a sustained effort in studying sponge diversity, boosted by the ongoing discovery of hidden biodiversity among this ecologically important taxon.

Four new Scopalina from Southern California: the first Scopalinida (Porifera: Demospongiae) from the Eastern Pacific

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are common inhabitants of kelp forest ecosystems in California, but their diversity and ecological importance are poorly characterized in this biome. Here I use freshly collected samples to describe the diversity of the order Scopalinida in California. Though previously unknown in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, four new species are described here: Scopalina nnnn1 sp. nov., S. kkkk sp. nov., S. gggg sp. nov., and S. jjjj sp. nov.. These discoveries illustrate the considerable uncharacterized sponge diversity remaining in California kelp forests, and the utility of SCUBA-based collection to improve our understanding of this diversity.

Distribution of freshwater sponges in Serbia

As data on the distribution of freshwater sponges (Porifera, Demospongiae, Spongillida) in Serbia are extremely scarce, we investigated the main Serbian rivers and lakes with respect to Porifera occurrence, for which 17 lotic and 11 lentic water bodies were selected. Sponges were found in 11 of 17 rivers (62 specimens in total) and in 3 of 11 lakes/reservoirs (seven specimens in total). Classical morphological spicule analysis was coupled with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene sequencing for species identification. Among the 69 collected speci- mens, five sponge species of the family Spongillidae have been identified: Ephydatia fluviatilis (Linnaeus, 1759), Spongilla lacustris (Linnaeus, 1759), Ephydatia muelleri (Lieberkühn, 1856), Trochospongilla horrida Weltner, 1893, and Eunapius fragilis (Leidy, 1851). The most frequently found sponge in Serbian rivers was E. fluviatilis (45% of all specimens), while the least frequent was E. fragilis (6 % of all specimens). The Tisa river has the highest sponge diversity (four species). In lentic water bodies, only E. fluviatilis (four specimens) and S. lacustris (three specimens) were found. In general, sponges were infrequent and their abundance was low in Serbian fresh waters. While sponges seem to tolerate significant variations of physical and chemical parameters, some optimal values can be established.