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1. The giant barrel sponge Xestospongia muta takes up dissolved organic matter from benthic cyanobacterial mats

   Olinger, LK; Strangman, WK; McMurray, SE; Mead, R; Pawlik, JR (February 2025, Organic geochemistry)

   With the decline of reef-building corals, other organisms are taking over Caribbean reefs, including sponges and benthic cyanobacterial mats (BCM). Sponges take up dissolved organic matter (DOM), but the sources and chemical characteristics of DOM taken up by sponges are unknown. One likely DOM source is benthic autotrophs, including BCM, which are prolific producers of DOM. We tested the hypothesis that sponges take up BCM-derived DOM using laboratory experiments in which seawater samples were collected before and after sequential incubations of BCM and small individuals of the giant barrel sponge Xestospongia muta. The concentration of DOC and relative abundance of individual features in the high resolution mass spectra using untargeted metabolomics were determined for each sample. There was a significant increase in DOC after BCM incubations, followed by a significant decrease after sponge incubations. These changes were mirrored in single feature relative abundances, with 2101 out of 3667 features significantly enriched during BCM incubations, and 54% of these (1142) depleted during sponge incubations. Among BCM-enriched and sponge-depleted features, many were halogenated, some were known BCM-derived secondary metabolites (e.g., carriebowmide, barbamide), and others matched unidentified sponge-depleted features from seawater samples collected on the reef. To our knowledge, this is the first report that sponges take up BCM exudates, including some that were detectable in reef DOM, revealing a path of molecules from source to sink through their environment. The BCM exudates taken up by sponges may be used as a food source or incorporated into sponge secondary metabolites for holobiont maintenance or chemical defenses. 

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2. Zoop to poop: assessment of microparticle loads in gray whale zooplankton prey and fecal matter reveal high daily consumption rates

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1201078  

   Torres, Leigh G.; Brander, Susanne M.; Parker, Julia I.; Bloom, Elissa M.; Norman, Robyn; Van Brocklin, Jennifer E.; Lasdin, Katherine S.; Hildebrand, Lisa (June 2023, Frontiers in Marine Science)

   The ocean continues to be a sink for microparticle (MP) pollution, which includes microplastics and other anthropogenic debris. While documentation of MP in marine systems is now common, we lack information on rates of MP ingestion by baleen whales and their prey. We collected and assessed MP loads in zooplankton prey and fecal samples of gray whales ( Eschrichtius robustus ) feeding in coastal Oregon, USA and produced the first estimates of baleen whale MP consumption rates from empirical data of zooplankton MP loads (i.e., not modeled). All zooplankton species examined were documented gray whale prey items ( Atylus tridens, Holmesimysis sculpta, Neomysis rayii ) and contained an average of 4 MP per gram of tissue, mostly of the microfiber morphotype. We extrapolated MP loads in zooplankton prey to estimate the daily MP consumption rates of pregnant and lactating gray whales, which ranged between 6.5 and 21 million MP/day. However, these estimates do not account for MP ingested from ambient water or benthic sediments, which may be high for gray whales given their benthic foraging strategy. We also assessed MP loads in fecal samples from gray whales feeding in the same spatio-temporal area and detected MP in all samples examined, which included microfibers and significantly larger morphotypes than in the zooplankton. We theorize that gray whales ingest MP via both indirect trophic transfer from their zooplankton prey and directly through indiscriminate consumption of ambient MPs when foraging benthically where they consume larger MP morphotypes that have sunk and accumulated on the seafloor. Hence, our estimated daily MP consumption rates for gray whales are likely conservative because they are only based on indirect MP ingestion via prey. Our results improve the understanding of MP loads in marine ecosystems and highlight the need to assess the health impacts of MP consumption on zooplankton and baleen whales, particularly due to the predominance of microfibers in samples, which may be more toxic and difficult to excrete than other MP types. Furthermore, the high estimated rates of MP consumption by gray whales highlights the need to assess health consequences to individuals and subsequent scaled-up effects on population vital rates. 

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3. On a Reef Far, Far Away: Anthropogenic Impacts Following Extreme Storms Affect Sponge Health and Bacterial Communities

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.608036  

   Shore, Amanda; Sims, Jordan A.; Grimes, Michael; Howe-Kerr, Lauren I.; Grupstra, Carsten G.; Doyle, Shawn M.; Stadler, Lauren; Sylvan, Jason B.; Shamberger, Kathryn E.; Davies, Sarah W.; et al (April 2021, Frontiers in Marine Science)

   null (Ed.)

   Terrestrial runoff can negatively impact marine ecosystems through stressors including excess nutrients, freshwater, sediments, and contaminants. Severe storms, which are increasing with global climate change, generate massive inputs of runoff over short timescales (hours to days); such runoff impacted offshore reefs in the northwest Gulf of Mexico (NW GoM) following severe storms in 2016 and 2017. Several weeks after coastal flooding from these events, NW GoM reef corals, sponges, and other benthic invertebrates ∼185 km offshore experienced mortality (2016 only) and/or sub-lethal stress (both years). To assess the impact of storm-derived runoff on reef filter feeders, we characterized the bacterial communities of two sponges, Agelas clathrodes and Xestospongia muta , from offshore reefs during periods of sub-lethal stress and no stress over a three-year period (2016—2018). Sponge-associated and seawater-associated bacterial communities were altered during both flood years. Additionally, we found evidence of wastewater contamination (based on 16S rRNA gene libraries and quantitative PCR) in offshore sponge samples, but not in seawater samples, following these flood years. Signs of wastewater contamination were absent during the no-flood year. We show that flood events from severe storms have the capacity to reach offshore reef ecosystems and impact resident benthic organisms. Such impacts are most readily detected if baseline data on organismal physiology and associated microbiome composition are available. This highlights the need for molecular and microbial time series of benthic organisms in near- and offshore reef ecosystems, and the continued mitigation of stormwater runoff and climate change impacts. 

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4. Nylon microfibers develop a distinct plastisphere but have no apparent effects on the gut microbiome or gut tissue status in the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16496  

   Collins, Hannah I; Griffin, Tyler W; Holohan, Bridget A; Ward, J Evan (December 2023, Environmental Microbiology)

   Abstract Ingestion of microplastics (MP) by suspension‐feeding bivalves has been well‐documented. However, it is unclear whether exposure to MP could damage the stomach and digestive gland (gut) of these animals, causing ramifications for organism and ecosystem health. Here, we show no apparent effects of nylon microfiber (MF) ingestion on the gut microbiome or digestive tissues of the blue mussel,Mytilus edulis. We exposed mussels to two low concentrations (50 and 100 particles/L) of either nylon MF orSpartinaspp. particles (dried, ground marsh grass), ca. 250–500 μm in length, or a no particle control laboratory treatment for 21 days. Results showed that nylon MF, when aged in coarsely filtered seawater, developed a different microbial community thanSpartinaspp. particles and seawater, however, even after exposure to this different community, mussel gut microbial communities resisted disturbance from nylon MF. The microbial communities of experimental mussels clustered together in ordination and were similar in taxonomic composition and measures of alpha diversity. Additionally, there was no evidence of damage to gut tissues after ingestion of nylon MF orSpartinaspp. Post‐ingestive particle processing likely mediated a short gut retention time of these relatively large particles, contributing to the negligible treatment effects. 

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5. Ecosystem engineers on tropical reefs in transition: giant barrel sponges in the Anthropocene

   Pawlik, Joseph (May 2025, Journal of experimental biology)

   Tropical coral reef ecosystems are changing rapidly to an alternative state in which sponges are the dominant living habitat, with giant barrel sponges (GBSs, Xestospongia spp.) representing the largest biomass. Unlike other benthic reef organisms, GBSs are ecosystem engineers that pump large volumes of seawater, disrupting the benthic boundary layer and directing flow away from the reef surface and into the water column. The morphology and size of GBSs have made them particularly good experimental subjects to study the hydraulics of sponge pumping and the transformation that occurs as seawater is processed by the sponge holobiont (sponge cells and microbial symbionts). This Review is part of a series marking the 100th birthday of The Company of Biologists, which was founded by marine biologist George Parker Bidder III, who primarily worked on sponges. The Review provides an integrative assessment of research on GBSs with comparisons with what is known about other marine sponges. Recent discoveries suggest that ancient lineages of morphologically indistinguishable GBSs are responding to environmental changes over sub-decadal time periods to rapidly populate reefs stripped of coral cover by climate change. If GBSs remain robust to rising seawater temperatures, they will become the greatest source of habitat complexity on reefs of the future, so knowledge of their biology and physiology will be important to our understanding of these ecosystems. 

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