Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF05092
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 57(1)

Growth of the encrusting sponge Tedania anhelans (Lieberkuhn) on vertical and on horizontal surfaces of temperate subtidal reefs

N. A. Knott A B D , A. J. Underwood A , M. G. Chapman A and T. M. Glasby A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, Marine Ecology Laboratories A11, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

B Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.

C Present address: NSW Department of Primary Industries, Port Stephens Fisheries Centre, Private Bag 1, Nelson Bay, NSW 2315, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: nknott@unimelb.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 57(1) 95-104 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF05092
Submitted: 18 May 2005  Accepted: 10 October 2005   Published: 17 January 2006

Abstract

On subtidal reefs around Sydney (Australia), Tedania anhelans (Lieberkuhn, 1859)is a common encrusting sponge that occurs as frequently on vertical as on horizontal surfaces on most reefs, but covers more than twice the area on vertical surfaces of reefs. Faster growth, leading to the greater cover of the sponge on vertical surfaces, is a possible explanation for this difference. This was examined by experimental transplants to test the hypothesis that T. anhelans transplanted from vertical to horizontal surfaces grow more slowly than those on vertical surfaces. Over three months, T. anhelans transplanted to horizontal surfaces shrank, by 18 ± 18% and 17 ± 16% (mean ± s.e.) at two sites. Conversely, sponges on vertical surfaces grew rapidly, increasing by 40 ± 18% and 78 ± 19% at two sites. Potential artefacts owing to the experimental procedure of moving sponges between places were tested, but none was detected. These results indicated that orientation had a strong effect on the growth of T. anhelans and that growth has an important role in creating the pattern of its greater cover on vertical than on horizontal surfaces of temperate subtidal reefs.

Extra keywords: experimental transplant, percentage cover, Porifera, sessile invertebrate, surface orientation.


Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Postgraduate Scholarship from the Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities to N.A.K. We thank S. Arndt, F. Barros, C. Bordehore, S. Burgess, I. Carlson, G. Cocco, M. Coleman, J. Ferris, K. Mills and M. Sage for help in the field and G. Housefield, I. Knott, B. Panayotakos and A. Oulianoff for assistance with the design and construction of the experimental equipment. We acknowledge The Electron Microscopy Unit at the University of Sydney, in particular E. Kable and I. Cohen, for their assistance with the image analysis. This work has benefited from discussions with F. Barros, M. Coleman, B. Kelaher and C. McKindsey.


References

Andrewartha H. G., and Birch L. C. (1954). ‘The Distribution and Abundance of Animals.’ (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL.)

Ayling, A. L. (1978). The relation of food availability and food preferences to field diet of an echinoid Evechinus chloroticus (Valenciennes). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 33, 223–235.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Bergquist P. R. (1978). ‘Sponges.’ (Hutchinson: London.)

Bryan, P. G. (1973). Growth rate, toxicity, and distribution of encrusting sponge Terpios sp. (Hadromerida: Suberitidae) in Guam, Mariana Islands. Micronesica 9, 237–242.
Buss L. W. (1979). Habitat selection, directional growth and spatial refuges: why colonial animals have more hiding places. In ‘Biology and Systematics of Colonial Organisms’. (Eds G. Larwood and B. R. Rosen.) pp. 459–497. (Academic Press: London.)

Butler, A. J. (1986). Recruitment of sessile invertebrates at five sites in Gulf St. Vincent, South Australia. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 97, 13–36.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Connell J. H. (1974). Ecology: field experiments in marine ecology. In ‘Experimental Marine Biology’. (Ed. R. Mariscal.) pp. 21–54. (Academic Press: New York.)

Connell J. H., and Keough M. J. (1985). Disturbance and patch dynamics of subtidal marine animals on hard substrata. In ‘The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics’. (Eds P. S. White and S. T. A. Pickett.) pp. 125–151. (Academic Press: Orlando, FL.)

Dayton, P. K. (1971). Competition, disturbance and community organization: the provision and subsequent utilization of space in a rocky intertidal community. Ecological Monographs 41, 351–389.
Fell P. E. (1974). Porifera. In ‘Reproduction of Marine Invertebrates’. (Eds A. C. Giese and J. S. Pearse.) pp. 51–125. (Academic Press: New York.)

Gerrodette, T. , and Flechsig, A. O. (1979). Sediment-induced reduction in the pumping rate of the tropical sponge Verongia lacunosa. Marine Biology 55, 103–110.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Hughes R. N. (1989). ‘A Functional Biology of Clonal Animals.’ (Chapman and Hall: London.)

Jackson, J. B. C. (1977). Competition on marine hard substrata: the adpative significance of solitary and colonial strategies. American Naturalist 111, 743–767.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Knott, N. A., Underwood, A. J., Chapman, M. G., and Glasby, T. M. (2004). Epibiota on vertical and on horizontal surfaces on natural reefs and on artificial structures. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 84, 1117–1130. doi:10.1017/S0025315404010550

Leichter, J. J. , and Witman, J. D. (1997). Water flow over subtidal rock walls: relation to distributions and growth rates of sessile suspension feeders in the Gulf of Maine. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 209, 293–307.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Pansini M., and Pronzato R. (1991). Observations on the dynamics of a Mediterranean sponge community. In ‘New Perspectives in Sponge Biology’. (Ed. K. Rützler.) pp. 404–415. (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington, DC.)

Petraitis, P. S. (1995). The role of growth in maintaining spatial dominance by mussels (Mytilus Edulis). Ecology 76, 1337–1346.
Sebens K. P. (1985). Community ecology of vertical rock walls in the Gulf of Maine, U.S.A.: small-scale processes and alternative community states. In ‘The Ecology of Rocky Coasts’. (Eds P. G. Moore and R. Seed.) pp. 346–371. (Hodder and Stoughton: Sevenoaks, UK.)

Sebens, K. P. (1986). Spatial relationships among encrusting marine organisms in the New England subtidal zone. Ecological Monographs 56, 73–96.
Underwood A. J. (1997). ‘Experiments in Ecology: Their Logical Design and Interpretation Using Analysis of Variance.’ (University Press: Cambridge, UK.)

Underwood, A. J. , and Chapman, M. G. (1996). Subtidal assemblages on rocky reefs at a cliff-face sewage outfall (North Head, Sydney, Australia): what happened when the outfall was turned off? Marine Pollution Bulletin 33, 293–302.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Underwood A. J., Chapman M. G., and Connell S. D. (2000). Observations in ecology you can’t make progress without understanding the patterns. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 250, 97–115. doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(00)00181-7

Uriz, M. J. , Maldonado, M. , Turon, X. , and Marti, R. (1998). How do reproductive output, larval behaviour, and recruitment contribute to adult spatial patterns in Mediterranean encrusting sponges? Marine Ecology Progress Series 167, 137–148.
Verdenal B., and Vacelet J. (1991). Sponge culture on vertical ropes in the Northwestern Mediterranean sea. In ‘New Perspectives in Sponge Biology’. (Ed. K. Rützler.) pp. 416–424. (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington, DC.)

Warburton, F. E. (1960). Influence of currents on form of sponges. Science 132, 89.
| PubMed | Winer B. J. (1971). ‘Statistical Principles in Experimental Design.’ (McGraw-Hill: Tokyo.)

Winston, J. , and Jackson, J. B. C. (1984). Ecology of cryptic coral reef communities. IV. Community development and life histories of encrusting cheilostome Bryzoa. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 76, 1–21.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Witman J. D., and Sebens K. P. (1991). Distribution and ecology of sponges at a subtidal rock ledge in the Central Gulf of Maine. In ‘New Perspectives in Sponge Biology’. (Ed. K. Rützler.) pp. 391–396. (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington, DC.)




A Referred to as Pronax sp. in Knott et al. (2004).