Decline in Mesozoic reef-building sponges explained by silicon limitation

Maldonado, Manuel; Carmona, Ma Carmen; Uriz, María Jesús; Cruzado, Antonio

doi:10.1038/44560

Cited by 240 publications

(237 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Given that optimal silicification in this species appears to require higher DSi concentration than are available in the coastal system, it cannot be ruled out that average spicule size varies drastically between populations subjected to different DSi regimes over the year, introducing an additional difficulty to correct species identification through the traditional skeletal criteria. Altogether the results of this study are consistent with previous claims of sublittoral sponges being strongly limited by DSi availability (Reincke & Barthel, 1997;Maldonado et al, 1999Maldonado et al, , 2011. The results also support the view that such a chronic limitation probably arises from the persistence in modern sponges of ancestral uptake systems that evolved in ancient oceans characterized by DSi concentrations being at least an order of magnitude higher than the maxima available in Recent oceans .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…The results also support the view that such a chronic limitation probably arises from the persistence in modern sponges of ancestral uptake systems that evolved in ancient oceans characterized by DSi concentrations being at least an order of magnitude higher than the maxima available in Recent oceans . It also reinforces the notion that the ''current'' DSi limitation is not a modern ecological process, since it probably started with the ecological expansion of diatoms during the Early Tertiary (Harper & Knoll, 1975;Maldonado et al, 1999;Lazarus et al, 2009). This process has been and it is still operating as an important environmental pressure.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

“…This suggestion is based on the realization that a DSi increase from 10 to 25 lM induced a significant increase in uptake performance, while an increase of identical magnitude between 25 and 40 lM elicited no significant acceleration in the uptake rate. On the one side, this type of response would be consistent with the idea that only above certain DSi thresholds, new groups of Si-responsive genes become activated and new types of spicule types can be produced (Maldonado et al, 1999;Krasko et al, 2000). Nevertheless, given that our sampling size was relatively low (N ranging from 3 to 6), we cannot discard the possibility that the ANOVA analysis lacked the power to detect differences between the 25 and 40 lM DSi treatment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Experimental silicon demand by the sponge Hymeniacidon perlevis reveals chronic limitation in field populations

Maldonado¹,

Cao²,

Cao³

et al. 2011

Ancient Animals, New Challenges

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Experimental silicon demand by the sponge Hymeniacidon perlevis reveals chronic limitation in field populations

Maldonado¹,

Cao²,

Cao³

et al. 2011

Ancient Animals, New Challenges

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“…Silica uptake and silicification in sponges is regulated by the availability of dSi in the ambient water and dSi uptake conforms to enzymatic (Michalis-Menten) kinetics with maximal uptake rates occurring only above 100-200 µM dSi (Reincke and Barthel, 1997;Maldonado et al, 1999Maldonado et al, , 2011. These values are higher than typical concentrations in most of the modern ocean, suggesting sponge dSi uptake mechanisms evolved in higher dSi waters (Maldonado et al, 2015a) and dSi is a limiting factor for living sponges .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Assessing the Potential of Sponges (Porifera) as Indicators of Ocean Dissolved Si Concentrations

et al. 2017

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We explore the distribution of sponges along dissolved silica (dSi) concentration gradients to test whether sponge assemblages are related to dSi and to assess the validity of fossil sponges as a palaeoecological tool for inferring dSi concentrations of the past oceans. We extracted sponge records from the publically available Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) database and linked these records with ocean physiochemical data to evaluate if there is any correspondence between dSi concentrations of the waters sponges inhabit and their distribution. Over 320,000 records of Porifera were available, of which 62,360 met strict quality control criteria. Our analyses was limited to the taxonomic levels of family, order and class. Because dSi concentration is correlated with depth in the modern ocean, we also explored sponge taxa distributions as a function of depth. We observe that while some sponge taxa appear to have dSi preferences (e.g., class Hexactinellida occurs mostly at high dSi), the overall distribution of sponge orders and families along dSi gradients is not sufficiently differentiated to unambiguously relate dSi concentrations to sponge taxa assemblages. We also observe that sponge taxa tend to be similarly distributed along a depth gradient. In other words, both dSi and/or another variable that depth is a surrogate for, may play a role in controlling sponge spatial distribution and the challenge is to distinguish between the two. We conclude that inferences about palaeo-dSi concentrations drawn from the abundance of sponges in the stratigraphic records must be treated cautiously as these animals are adapted to a great range of dSi conditions and likely other underlying variables that are related to depth. Our analysis provides a quantification of the dSi ranges of common sponge taxa, expands on previous knowledge related to their bathymetry preferences and suggest that sponge taxa assemblages are not related to particular dSi conditions.

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“…At present the concentration of silicic acid in natural fresh-and seawater is low and reaches values of less than 3 M (Maldonado et al, 1999); the optimal silica concentration for the synthesis of the siliceous spicules has, however, been determined to be between 5 and 100 M (Jewell, 1935). From the fast growth rate of sponge spicules (for freshwater sponges 5 m/h; Weissenfels, 1989) it can be deduced that sponges must have an eYcient system to obtain silica from the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Magnetic resonance imaging of the siliceous skeleton of the demosponge Lubomirskia baicalensis

Müller

Kaluzhnaya

Беликов

et al. 2006

Journal of Structural Biology

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The skeletal elements (spicules) of the demosponge Lubomirskia baicalensis were analyzed; they are composed of amorphous, noncrystalline silica, and contain in a central axial canal the axial Wlament which consists of the enzyme silicatein. The axial Wlament, that orients the spicule in its longitudinal axis exists also in the center of the spines which decorate the spicule. During growth of the sponge, new serially arranged modules which are formed from longitudinally arranged spicule bundles are added at the tip of the branches. X-ray analysis revealed that these serial modules are separated from each other by septate zones (annuli). We describe that the longitudinal bundles of spicules of a new module originate from the apex of the earlier module from where they protrude. A cross section through the oscular/apical-basal axis shows that the bundle rays are organized in a concentric and radiate pattern. High resolution magnetic resonance microimaging studies showed that the silica spheres of the spicules in the cone region contain high amounts of 'mobile' water. We conclude that the radiate accretive growth pattern of sponges is initiated in the apical region (cones) by newly growing spicules which are characterized by high amounts of 'mobile' water; subsequently spicule bundles are formed laterally around the cones. 

show abstract

Decline in Mesozoic reef-building sponges explained by silicon limitation

Cited by 240 publications

References 13 publications

Experimental silicon demand by the sponge Hymeniacidon perlevis reveals chronic limitation in field populations

Experimental silicon demand by the sponge Hymeniacidon perlevis reveals chronic limitation in field populations

Assessing the Potential of Sponges (Porifera) as Indicators of Ocean Dissolved Si Concentrations

Magnetic resonance imaging of the siliceous skeleton of the demosponge Lubomirskia baicalensis

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