Species Composition and Distribution of Sponges (Phylum: Porifera) in the Seagrass Ecosystem of Minicoy Atoll, Lakshadweep, India

Abstract

Studies on diversity of fauna associated with seagrass ecosystem of Minicoy Atoll, Lakshadweep were conducted for 2 years. Sponges were the important associated macrofauna in the seagrass meadow as attached to the leaves, stem and rhizome of the seagrass, or sometimes found attached to hard substratum in the meadow. As part of this study, species composition and abundance of sponges were analyzed from four stations in the seagrass meadow. Total of 22 species of sponges were recorded which belong to 21 genera, 19 families, 10 orders, and 2 classes. The following species were recorded from the four study stations and these constituted 10 % of the total faunal population of seagrass meadow namely, Clathrina sp., Scypha ciliata, Dysidea fragilis, Fasciospongia cavernosa, Ircinia compana, Aurora globostellata, Cliona sp., Spirastrella inconstans, Suberites sp., Tethya diploderma, Xenospongia sp., Halichondria sp., Haliclona pigmentifera, Haliclona tenuiramosa, Callispongia sp., Gelliodes cellaria, Sigmadocia fibulata, Hyatella cribriformis, Spongia officianalis, Echinodictyum longistylum, Thalysias reinwardti and Psammaplysilla purpurea. In the Station I, the abundance of sponges was significantly correlated with seagrass shoot density (P \ 0.01, r = 0.626). Highest mean seasonal density of 3.13 ± 4.63 individual m -2 was recorded during monsoon and spatially, 3.33 ± 4.46 individual m -2 in the Station III. Studies on the community structure of macro-invertebrate fauna in the seagrass meadow of Minicoy Atoll were less.

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

“…from Banyuwangi beach that inhabited a sandy substrate type associated with the T. hemprichii seagrass habitat. Furthermore, when we compared our results to other studies by Sivaleela et al (2013), Prabhakaran et al (2013), Demers et al (2015) and Ismet et al (2017) two genera: Calyspongia and Haliclona were also discovered in the other ecosystems with seagrass meadows (Table 2). The existence of conspicuous shallow-water sponges Calyspongia and Haliclona (Table 2) presumably indicates the suitability and adaptability of morphological characters to seagrass meadows i.e., a larger oscula of the sponges is presumed to provide greater protection and shelter against predation (Wulff 2008).…”

“…In contrast to the Caribbean, there are few studies on sponge diversity and seagrass meadows in the Indo-Pacific region. Hitherto, the recorded species in the Indo-Pacific include Spirastrella inconstans, Cliona celata, Axinella flabelliformis, Axinella durissima, Callyspongia diffusa, Gelliodes fibrous, Sigmadocia fibulata, Haliclona implexa, Haliclona exigua sponges and Cymodocea sp., Halophila ovalis, and Cymodocea serrulata seagrasses found in India (Prabhakaran et al 2013;Sivaleela et al 2013) also Phoriospongia sp. and Toxochalina sp.…”

Composition and Antibacterial Activities of Marine Sponges From Different Seagrass Ecosystems in Kepulauan Seribu Waters, Jakarta

“…Beberapa penelitian mengenai komunitas spons sebagai biota bentik asosiatif di ekosistem lamun menunjukkan adanya perbedaan genus yang dapat ditemukan dari spons pada ekosistem lamun dengan spons dari ekosistem laut lainnya (Prabhakaran et al, 2013, Sivaleela et al, 2013. Penelitian spons dan potensi metabolit sekundernya di Indonesia telah dilakukan secara intensif sejak 10 tahun terakhir (Radjasa et al, 2007, Voogd dan Cleary, 2008, Voogd et al, 2009, Voogd, 2012.…”

“…Meskipun demikian, beberapa genus spons yang sama ditemukan di ekosistem lamun di Minicoy Atoll Lakshadwepp India oleh Prabhakaran et al (2013). Penelitian yang dilakukan Sivaleela et al (2013) juga menemukan beberapa genus spons yang sama di ekosistem lamun di Palk Bay, bagian utara Mandaman India.…”

Six new species of Hyattella (Porifera: Dictyoceratida: Spongiidae) from the Southern Coast of India

“…There exists a great diversity of Hyattella around the world especially in the tropical seas. Moreover, the reports from India have been scarce and there are nomenclature issues of the species reported from Indian Ocean (Dendy, 1887;Burton, 1937;Rao, 1941;Thomas, 1973;1979;1985;1986;Prabhakaran et al, 2013;Sivaleela, 2014;Van Soest et al, 2020;Tarachand et al, 2020;Varsha et al, 2020 a;2020 c). In this context the present exploration and taxonomic work on the bio-inventorying of Sponge of the Genus Hyattella was taken along the Indian coast with special emphasis along the Gulf of Mannar area which is part of the All India Coordinated Project on Taxonomy (AICOPTAX) a new initiative from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, New Delhi to create a database on the inventory of the faunistic diversity of India.…”