Skip to main content

Presence of coral-killing sponges in Okinawan mesophotic coral ecosystems

Buy Article:

$22.00 + tax (Refund Policy)

Shallow reefs worldwide are degrading due to multiple threats. Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs; 30– 150 m depth) have been investigated for their diversity and potential to serve as a coral refuge and re-seed shallow reefs. However, recent studies showed that MCEs are also disturbed by various factors, including diseases, pollution, storms, and thermal-induced bleaching. Among the disturbances, coral-killing sponges are also known to decimate many Indo-Pacific shallow reefs but are rarely reported at mesophotic depths. Here, we report the first comprehensive assessment of the coral-killing sponges Chalinula nematifera (de Laubenfels, 1954) and Terpios hoshinota Rützler and Muzik, 1993 in MCEs. Specifically, we investigated (1) their prevalence, (2) sponge-affected corals, and (3) coral-sponge interaction types at 40 m depth in Okinawa, southern Japan. We found that C. nematifera and T. hoshinota were present but at low prevalences, with the highest mean cover of 3.8% and 1.8%, respectively. Although both species appeared to be substrate- generalists, they mainly affected the dominant coral taxa, such as branching corals Acropora tenella and Seriatopora sp. Both sponges mainly interacted with corals by overgrowth, followed by tissue and peripheral contact. Due to lack of prior knowledge, it is unclear whether the current observation of the coral-killing sponges captured their expansion, decline, or steady state in Okinawan MCEs. Thus, this study provides unprecedented insights about coral-killing sponges at mesophotic depths which highlights the need to monitor more MCEs globally, prioritizing regions with shallow reefs that are already threatened by these sponges.

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, Japan 2: Sesoko Marine Research Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Japan

Publication date: July 1, 2024

This article was made available online on April 12, 2024 as a Fast Track article with title: "Presence of coral-killing sponges in Okinawan mesophotic coral ecosystems".

More about this publication?
  • The Bulletin of Marine Science is dedicated to the dissemination of high quality research from the world's oceans. All aspects of marine science are treated by the Bulletin of Marine Science, including papers in marine biology, biological oceanography, fisheries, marine affairs, applied marine physics, marine geology and geophysics, marine and atmospheric chemistry, and meteorology and physical oceanography.
  • Editorial Board
  • Information for Authors
  • Subscribe to this Title
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
  • Access Key
  • Free content
  • Partial Free content
  • New content
  • Open access content
  • Partial Open access content
  • Subscribed content
  • Partial Subscribed content
  • Free trial content