N.J. de Voogd

Lock, Stock and two different barrels: comparing the genetic composition of morphotypes of the Indo-Pacific sponge Xestospongia testudinaria

The giant barrel sponge Xestospongiatestudinaria is an ecologically important species that is widely distributed across the Indo-Pacific. Little is known, however, about the precise biogeographic distribution and the amount of morphological and genetic variation in this species. Here we provide the first detailed, fine-scaled (<200 km2) study of the morphological and genetic composition of X . testudinaria around Lembeh Island, Indonesia. Two mitochondrial (CO1 and ATP6 genes) and one nuclear (ATP synthase β intron) DNA markers were used to assess genetic variation. We identified four distinct morphotypes of X . testudinaria around Lembeh Island. These morphotypes were genetically differentiated with both mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Our results indicate that giant barrel sponges around Lembeh Island, which were all morphologically identified as X . testudinaria , consist of at least two different lineages that appear to be reproductively isolated. The first lineage is represented by individuals with a digitate surface area, CO1 haplotype C5, and is most abundant around the harbor area of Bitung city. The second lineage is represented by individuals with a predominantly smooth surface area, CO1 haplotype C1 and can be found all around Lembeh Island, though to a lesser extent around the harbor of Bitung city. Our findings of two additional unique genetic lineages suggests the presence of an even broader species complex possibly containing more than two reproductively isolated species. The existence of X . testudinaria as a species complex is a surprising result given the size, abundance and conspicuousness of the sponge.

On the run: free-living mushroom corals avoiding interaction with sponges

Individuals of the free-living mushroom coral Heliofungia fralinae moved away when placed in contact with fragments of the toxic haplosclerid sponge Callyspongia (Euplacella) biru. This reaction was not evoked by three other sponge species. The experiment demonstrated that mobility of mushroom corals helps them to flee from organisms that secrete secondary metabolites in competition for space.

The coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota invades Indonesia

The coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota recently expanded its range from the Pacific Island of Guam to the northwestern Pacific (Reimer et al. 2012). The blackcolored sponge grows symbiotically with several cyanobacteria and is known for occasional massive outbreaks where it smothers and kills corals and other sessile organisms (Rützler and Muzik 1993). The socalled black disease has mainly been recorded in Taiwan and Japan, and more recently in the Great Barrier Reef (Fujii et al. 2012), but so far it has never been reported in the Indonesian archipelago. In 2011 and 2012, we intensively searched for Terpios at several Indonesian reefs. The sponge was not found in NE Kalimantan and North Sulawesi, and only a few small patches were observed in SW Sulawesi. It was, however, found overgrowing large areas of coral in the Thousand Islands, Java (Fig. 1a, b). Examination of the spicules and COI mitochondrial DNA sequences confirmed the identity of these specimens as T. hoshinota (data not shown). This sponge is known to thrive in polluted and stressed coral reefs (Plucer-Rosario 1987). The coral reefs of the Thousand Islands have been adversely affected by a number of disturbances over the past decades leaving them in a poor state. Importantly, T. hoshinota has a wider western distribution than previously thought, and it is important to monitor more areas due to the threat it poses to coral reefs.

Variation in the composition of corals, fishes, sponges, echinoderms, ascidians, molluscs, foraminifera and macroalgae across a pronounced in-to-offshore environmental gradient in the Jakarta Bay–Thousand Islands coral reef complex

Substrate cover, water quality parameters and assemblages of corals, fishes, sponges, echinoderms, ascidians, molluscs, benthic foraminifera and macroalgae were sampled across a pronounced environmental gradient in the Jakarta Bay-Thousand Islands reef complex. Inshore sites mainly consisted of sand, rubble and turf algae with elevated temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and chlorophyll concentrations and depauperate assemblages of all taxa. Live coral cover was very low inshore and mainly consisted of sparse massive coral heads and a few encrusting species. Faunal assemblages were more speciose and compositionally distinct mid- and offshore compared to inshore. There were, however, small-scale differences among taxa. Certain midshore sites, for example, housed assemblages resembling those typical of the inshore environment but this differed depending on the taxon. Substrate, water quality and spatial variables together explained from 31% (molluscs) to 72% (foraminifera) of the variation in composition. In general, satellite-derived parameters outperformed locally measured parameters.

A new antimicrobial fatty acid from the calcareous sponge Paragrantia cf. waguensis

A new acetylenic fatty acid, 1, has been isolated from the title sponge. The structure of the molecule was elucidated to contain an enyne and a thiophene by spectroscopic methods. Compound 1 showed a weak cytotoxic effect against NBT‐T2 rat bladder epithelial cells (IC50>20 μg/ml), and antimicrobial activity with minimal‐inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 64 and 128 μg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, respectively.

New terpenoids from two Indonesian marine sponges.

A C16 norsesterterpenoid (euplectellodiol, 1) and a norditerpenoid (2) have been isolated from the marine sponges Mycale euplectelloides and Diacarnus megaspinorhabdosa, respectively. Their structures have been determined by spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1 and 2 are new natural products.

New Frontiers in Sponge Science – the 2013 Fremantle Sponge Conference

On 3–9 November 2013 the 9th World Sponge Conference was held in Fremantle, Western Australia under the theme ‘New Frontiers in Sponge Science’. The 186 participants were greeted with a banner tethered to the statue of Eliza in the Swan River (Figure 1A; list of participants available in Appendix 1). The conference then started with a Welcome to Country ceremony and an icebreaker function at the Western Australian Maritime Museum on Sunday (Figure 1B), followed by 4 days of conference programme at the Esplanade Hotel with 229 presentations (104 full talks, 17 speed talks, 108 posters; Figure 1C–F), a choice of field trips on Friday and a sponge classification workshop at the University of Western Australia on Saturday (Figure 1G). This was the second time that the international forum of sponge science convened in Australia, after the 5th International Sponge Symposium was held in Brisbane (Hooper, 1999). Inviting delegates to Fremantle in Western Australia offered access to a diverse mix of history, culture, restaurants and nightlife, with everything within walking distance, and buses, trains and ferries connecting to Perth City. The other reason for meeting in Western Australia was the high potential for exchange between the various sectors of science, academia, application-uptake, industries and commercial use, policy making and regulation. As a consequence, on the first day of the conference one session was dedicated to presentations in the context of industrial activities, fisheries, monitoring and managing sponge habitats (Appendix 2). On the last day of the conference two sessions were given to biotechnology presentations (Appendix 2). Other sessions covered general ecology, phylogeny, symbioses, taxonomy and population biology (sequence according to number of oral presentations; Appendix 2). The programme and the book of abstracts, as well as a media release can be found on the event webpage (Sponge Conference Committee, 2012), and additional accounts were given by Marshall (2013); Mazard (2013) and Schönberg (2014). The 9th World Sponge Conference differed in several aspects from previous international sponge meetings. During the Fremantle conference parallel sessions were held for the first time, which was controversial. At the two earlier meetings the sponge research community expressed a strong wish to be able to visit every talk, which was previously possible, but at the expense of many delegates not given the opportunity to present a talk. For example, at the 8th Sponge Conference in Girona, Spain, members of the organizing committee excluded themselves from oral presentations, in favour of international and younger delegates. For the Fremantle conference, however, the organizing committee made a decision to allocate a limited number of parallel sessions to accommodate oral presentations requested by every delegate, and in doing so it also reduced the delegate registration costs by finishing the main programme a day earlier than originally planned. Another novelty was realised through a session of 5 minute speed talks, which offered opportunities for rapid communications, which was enthusiastically embraced by a wide range of presenters (Appendix 2). These talks were welcome in the tight schedule and allowed a quick succession of varied topics, but yielded variable feedback. Keynotes delivered by Clive Wilkinson, Bernie Degnan, Ute Hentschel, Manuel Maldonado, Rob van Soest and James Bell were kept to half-hour sessions (Appendix 2), a setting that was received positively. Every evening an opportunity was provided to mingle socially, which included the highly successful Student Meet and Greet Night at the Norfolk Hotel to rapidly integrate students into the science community (Figure 1H), the poster session at the Esplanade Hotel (Figure 1I), a very al fresco gathering at Kailis’ Fish Market to remember scientists no longer with us (Figure 1J), and the conference dinner at the Fremantle Sailing Club (Figure 1K), during which various awards were distributed (Appendix 2) and not one, but three traditional sponge conference songs were presented (Figure 1L; event webpage, Sponge Conference Committee, 2012). Field trips on Friday took parties through Fremantle, to Rottnest Island (Figure 1M) and the Swan Valley. On Saturday a whole day workshop gave 22 participants the opportunity to learn from nine experienced sponge tutors (Figure 1G). Slide presentations and hands-on microscopy sessions demonstrated classical methods in sponge identification and traits typical for sponge orders, and essential databases were introduced (Van Soest et al., 2012, 2016; Hooper et al., 2013; Hall & Hooper, 2014 and databases these feed into), as well as the concept of sponge functional growth forms that can be used for example when sponges need to be characterized from imagery (Schönberg & Fromont, 2014; Althaus et al., 2015). As another first, it was possible to upload posters and slide presentations to the Faculty of 1000 (2000–2016), an open access, Creative Commons license repository that allows citation of otherwise unpublished data for which the author retains copyright. This service was utilized for 34 Internet publications of conference presentations (25 posters, 9 talks). Last, but not

Differential feeding strategies in phyllidiid nudibranchs on coral reefs at Halmahera, northern Moluccas

Sponges frequently produce toxic secondary metabolites, especially in tropical coral reefs. These metabolites are thought to have evolved as a chemically mediated defence mechanism and are highly effective against potential predators (Proksch 1994). Nudibranchs of the family Phyllidiidae feed on sponges of the order Halichondrida and exploit this adaptation: they selectively sequester the toxins and employ them for their own protection (RitsonWilliams and Paul 2007; Cimino and Ghiselin 2009). Other than most dorid nudibranchs, phyllidiids lack radulae and jaws. Rather, they are specialized in suctorial feeding. Their feeding apparatus consists of a small mouth followed by an inflated part of the pharynx known as the pharyngeal bulb, which contains secretory glands and can be everted (Fig. 1b, d), presumably for external digestion (Brunckhorst 1993). During a biodiversity survey off West Halmahera (northern Moluccas) in 2009, we recorded seven phyllidiid species on six halichondrid species. Sponges were identified by the second author (NJdV). Vouchers are deposited in NCB Naturalis. Phyllidia varicosa, Phyllidiella pustulosa, and Phyllidiella nigra fed almost exclusively on the same sponge host, Axinyssa aff. variabilis (Fig. 1a), however, using different feeding techniques. P. varicosa feeds superficially, consuming little more than its host’s skin, often leaving a pattern of multiple discoloured, rosette-shaped marks (Fig. 1c). In contrast, P. pustulosa inserts its exceptionally large pharyngeal bulb deep into the host sponge, frequently creating a narrow hole as deep as half its own length (Fig. 1d). Finally, P. nigra, which has a pharyngeal bulb similar to that of P. pustulosa, yet not quite as large, appears to consume consecutive chunks of tissue from the host’s surface; in one instance, little of the exposed surface was left untouched (Fig. 1e). Dissection of two specimens of each species revealed a significant amount of whole spicules belonging to Axinyssa aff. variabilis in the digestive tracts of P. nigra and P. pustulosa, but not in P. varicosa. In conclusion, P. varicosa, P. pustulosa, and P. nigra differ in the way they exploit their mutual host, and this difference may facilitate their coexistence in species-rich coral reefs.

Sponge Prokaryote Communities in Taiwanese Coral Reef and Shallow Hydrothermal Vent Ecosystems.

Previously, it was believed that the prokaryote communities of typical ‘low-microbial abundance’ (LMA) or ‘non-symbiont harboring’ sponges were merely subsets of the prokaryote plankton community. Recent research has, however, shown that these sponges are dominated by particular clades of Proteobacteria or Cyanobacteria. Here, we expand on this research and assess the composition and putative functional profiles of prokaryotic communities from LMA sponges collected in two ecosystems (coral reef and hydrothermal vent) from vicinal islands of Taiwan with distinct physicochemical conditions. Six sponge species identified as Acanthella cavernosa (Bubarida), Echinodictyum asperum, Ptilocaulis spiculifer (Axinellida), Jaspis splendens (Tetractinellida), Stylissa carteri (Scopalinida) and Suberites sp. (Suberitida) were sampled in coral reefs in the Penghu archipelago. One sponge species provisionally identified as Hymeniacidon novo spec. (Suberitida) was sampled in hydrothermal vent habitat. Each sponge was dominated by a limited set of operational taxonomic units which were similar to sequences from organisms previously obtained from other LMA sponges. There was a distinct bacterial community between sponges collected in coral reef and in hydrothermal vents. The putative functional profile revealed that the prokaryote community from sponges collected in hydrothermal vents was significantly enriched for pathways related to DNA replication and repair.

Sea surface temperature and ocean colour (MODIS/AQUA) space and time variability in Indonesian Sea coral reef systems from 2002 to 2011

Presently, there are already Indonesian coral reefs experiencing massive destruction caused by anthropogenic localscale sources (sedimentation, eutrophication) and/or natural climatic global-scale sources (temperature) which can inflict acute and/or chronic impacts on these ecosystems. This study was carried out with the aim of identifying possible sources of impact in coral reef systems associated with two of the most populated Indonesian cities (Makassar and Jakarta). MODIS/AQUA satellite-derived Ocean Colour (Chl a in mg m-3) and Sea Surface Temperature (SST in °C) data were used for the 2002-2011 period. These were related with large-scale atmospheric climatic indices, namely the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), the Dipole Mode Index (DMI), and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI). Beyond the expected influence of the El Niño Index over the Indonesian region, we present first evidence of the significant influence of the NAOI in Indonesian ecosystems. The results show strong seasonal correlation between the NAOI and two key parameters for the coral reef health: chlorophyll a (at Jakarta) and SST (at Makassar). During the dry season, and especially over the Spermonde coral reef system, a seasonal SST uptrend was observed culminating in the first bleaching event registered in this area during the hottest year (2010) since 2002.