Incidence and identity of photosynthetic symbionts in Caribbean coral reef sponge assemblages

Marine sponges are abundant and diverse components of coral reefs and commonly harbour photosynthetic symbionts in these environments. The most prevalent symbiont is the cyanobacterium, Synechococcus spongiarum, isolated from taxonomically diverse hosts from geographically distant regions. We combin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2007-12, Vol.87 (6), p.1683-1692
Main Authors: Erwin, Patrick M., Thacker, Robert W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archipelagoes
BIOGEOGRAPHY AND ECOLOGY
Brackish
Chlorophyll
Chondrilla nucula
Coral reefs
Cyanobacteria
Cyanophyta
Harbors
Invertebrates
Marine
Nucula
Nutrition
Species diversity
Synechococcus
Taxonomy
Xestospongia muta
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Summary:Marine sponges are abundant and diverse components of coral reefs and commonly harbour photosynthetic symbionts in these environments. The most prevalent symbiont is the cyanobacterium, Synechococcus spongiarum, isolated from taxonomically diverse hosts from geographically distant regions. We combined analyses of chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentrations with line-intercept transect surveys to assess the abundance and diversity of reef sponges hosting photosymbionts on Caribbean coral reefs in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panamá. To identify symbionts, we designed PCR primers that specifically amplify a fragment of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene from S. spongiarum and used these primers to screen potential host sponges for the presence of this symbiont. Chlorophyll-a data divided the sponge community into two disparate groups, species with high (>125 μg/g, N=20) and low (
ISSN:0025-3154
1469-7769
DOI:10.1017/S0025315407058213