School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-21-2022

Abstract

Mesophotic coral reef ecosystems (MCEs) are characterized by gradients in irradi ance, temperature and trophic resources. As depth increases on Caribbean mesophotic reefs, particulate organic matter increases while dissolved organic matter decreases, and the increase in particulate organic matter is directly related to the increase in sponge abundances and growth rates on MCEs. To further understand the trophic ecology of sponges, changes in microbiome composition and function, stable isotopic composition and proximate biochemical composition of 4 Caribbean reef sponges (Amphimedon compressa, Agelas tubulata, Plakortis angulospiculatus and Xestospongia muta) were quantified along a shallow to mesophotic depth gradient on Grand Cayman Island. Increases in δ15N for all sponges were observed as depth increased, indicating an increasing reliance on heterotrophic food resources. Species-specific changes in symbiotic microbial community composition were also observed as depth in creased, and the predicted functional genes associated with nitrogen and carbon cycling showed species-specific changes between depths. Re gardless of species-specific changes in micro biome community structure or function, or whether sponges were classified as high microbial or low microbial abundance, sponges increased their consumption of particulate organic matter with increasing depth into the lower mesophotic zone.

Comments

Post-Doc.

© Inter-Research 2022

Publication Title

Marine Ecology Progress Series

DOI

10.3354/meps14059

Available for download on Wednesday, July 21, 2027

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