Testing the suitability of a morphological monitoring approach for identifying temporal variability in a temperate sponge assemblage

Berman, Jade; Burton, Mark; Gibbs, Robert H.; Lock, Kate; Newman, Philip; Jones, J. I.; Bell, James J.

doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2012.12.003

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…There was no correlation, however, between any of the measured abiotic variables and the observed change. A more recent study by Berman et al () identified the presence of seasonal variation in sponges at Skomer, although there was no indication of interannual variation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…In the northern Atlantic bioregion at Skomer Island (southwest Wales) sponges monitored annually since 1993 (Bell et al 2006;Berman et al 2013) exhibited one large change in the sponge assemblage in 1996. In the following year, the assemblage returned to a previously observed state (Bell et al 2006).…”

Section: Patterns Of Temporal Variation In Sponge Assemblagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Little is known about temporal changes in sponge assemblages, particularly for freshwater sponges, and what constitutes natural variation. Most of the information on temporal variation in sponges (with notable exceptions in the NE Atlantic and Caribbean [Wulff 2006;Berman et al 2013]) has been collected over relatively short (3-5 years) periods and predominately focuses on changes in abundance. Further long-term data are required before temporal trends can be fully assessed and overall conservation status determined.…”

Section: Gaps In Our Understanding Of Sponge Ecology Relevant To Consmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Global conservation status of sponges

Bell

McGrath

Biggerstaff

et al. 2015

Conservation Biology

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Sponges are important for maintaining ecosystem function and integrity of marine and freshwater benthic communities worldwide. Despite this, there has been no assessment of their current global conservation status. We assessed their status, accounting for the distribution of research effort; patterns of temporal variation in sponge populations and assemblages; the number of sponges on threatened species lists; and the impact of environmental pressures. Sponge research effort has been variable; marine sponges in the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean and freshwater sponges in Europe and North America have received the most attention. Although sponge abundance has increased in some locations since 1990, these were typically on coral reefs, in response to declines in other benthic organisms, and restricted to a few species. Few data were available on temporal trends in freshwater sponge abundance. Despite over 8500 described sponge species, only 20 are on threatened species lists, and all are marine species from the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Of the 202 studies identified, the effects of temperature, suspended sediment, substratum loss, and microbial pathogens have been studied the most intensively for marine sponges, although responses appear to be variable. There were 20 studies examining environmental impacts on freshwater sponges, and most of these were on temperature and heavy metal contamination. We found that most sponges do not appear to be threatened globally. However, little information is available for most species and more data are needed on the impacts of anthropogenic-related pressures. This is a critical information gap in understanding sponge conservation status.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Patterns Of Temporal Variation In Sponge Assemblagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gaps In Our Understanding Of Sponge Ecology Relevant To Consmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Global conservation status of sponges

Bell

McGrath

Biggerstaff

et al. 2015

Conservation Biology

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“…Temperate and polar sponge assemblages can also show strong seasonal changes (e.g. Berman et al ., 2013), and Dayton et al . (2013) reported sudden shifts in biomass of the Antarctic sponge Anoxycalyx joubini driven by stochastic environmental events.…”

Section: Global Variation In Sponge Traitsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The South East Pacific reported low abundance values (at 0–20 m median values of sponge abundance: 70.0 sponges m –2 ). The North Atlantic showed median values of sponge abundance of 150 sponges m –2 on shallow reefs, but reached mean values of ~226 ± 18.5 sponges m –2 at Skomer in the UK (mean and SE from Berman et al ., 2013) and mean of ~700 sponges m –2 in a sea cave in Ireland (Bell, 2002). Polar information was under‐represented in the literature, with the information available for entire assemblages showing high percentage cover (Antarctica at 20–40 m: median 32%).…”

Section: Global Variation In Sponge Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interocean patterns in shallow water sponge assemblage structure and function

et al. 2020

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Sponges are a major component of benthic ecosystems across the world and fulfil a number of important functional roles. However, despite their importance, there have been few attempts to compare sponge assemblage structure and ecological functions across large spatial scales. In this review, we examine commonalities and differences between shallow water (<100 m) sponges at bioregional (15 bioregions) and macroregional (tropical, Mediterranean, temperate, and polar) scales, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of sponge ecology. Patterns of sponge abundance (based on density and area occupied) were highly variable, with an average benthic cover between ~1 and 30%. Sponges were generally found to occupy more space (percentage cover) in the Mediterranean and polar macroregions, compared to temperate and tropical macroregions, although sponge densities (sponges m–2) were highest in temperate bioregions. Mean species richness standardised by sampling area was similar across all bioregions, except for a few locations that supported very high small‐scale biodiversity concentrations. Encrusting growth forms were generally the dominant sponge morphology, with the exception of the Tropical West Atlantic, where upright forms dominated. Annelids and Arthropods were the most commonly reported macrofauna associated with sponges across bioregions. With respect to reproduction, there were no patterns in gametic development (hermaphroditism versus gonochorism), although temperate, tropical, and polar macroregions had an increasingly higher percentage of viviparous species, respectively, with viviparity being the sole gamete development mechanism reported for polar sponges to date. Seasonal reproductive timing was the most common in all bioregions, but continuous timing was more common in the Mediterranean and tropical bioregions compared to polar and temperate bioregions. We found little variation across bioregions in larval size, and the dominant larval type across the globe was parenchymella. No pattens among bioregions were found in the limited information available for standardised respiration and pumping rates. Many organisms were found to predate sponges, with the abundance of sponge predators being higher in tropical systems. While there is some evidence to support a higher overall proportion of phototrophic species in the Tropical Austalian bioregion compared to the Western Atlantic, both also have large numbers of heterotrophic species. Sponges are important spatial competitors across all bioregions, most commonly being reported to interact with anthozoans and algae. Even though the available information was limited for many bioregions, our analyses demonstrate some differences in sponge traits and functions among bioregions, and among macroregions. However, we also identified similarities in sponge assemblage structure and function at global scales, likely reflecting a combination of regional‐ and local‐scale biological and physical processes affecting sponge assemblages, along with common ancestry. Fi...

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