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Living inside a sponge skeleton: the association of a sponge, a macroalga and a diatom

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Abstract

The relationships between sponges and macroalgae have been poorly investigated, especially in temperate waters. This work describes the consortium between the dictyoceratid sponge Dysidea pallescens and the red alga Acrochaetium spongicola permeating spongin fibres in the Mediterranean Sea; moreover, this is the first report of a diatom, Amphora pediculus, living also inside the spongin skeleton. The annual trend of the total algal biomass did not vary over time in relation to the temperature, irradiance and incorporation of foreign bodies. Our analyses, conducted by light and electron microscopy, suggest that both the macroalga and the diatom invade the skeleton of the sponge from the external environment, and that the benthic diatom, epiphyte of the macroalga, is passively carried inside the fibres through the growth of Acrochaetium spongicola. All the examined samples of D. pallescens showed that the macroalga permeated at least some fibres, while the presence of the diatom was occasional. The superficial layer of the sponge, thin and reticulate, likely allows the passage of the light and ensures the algal survival inside the sponge tissue. The high occurrence of the association with A. spongicola, together with the morphological adaptations of the sponge favouring the algal life, suggest that the relationship is mutualistic. The possible benefits for the involved partners are hypothesized. The taxonomy and ecology of endozoic Acrochaetiales are controversial due to the reduced size of thalli, the absence of peculiar diagnostic characters and unknown reproductive structures. Therefore, detailed studies on the relationships between the algae and their hosts will provide helpful information for the algal identification.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted with Dr. Caicci (University of Padova) for his support in preparing samples for TEM. We are grateful to Prof. Giordano and Dr. Norici of the Polytechnic University of Marche for the possibility to use the spectrophotometer and for their suggestions. The research has been funded by PRIN project (Progetti di Ricerca di Interesse Nazionale 2008) 2008YBEANX_002 - http://prin.miur.it/, AMER (AMER 2013–2015. Adriatic Marine Ecosystem Recovery) and Flagship Project RITMARE – The Italian Research for the Sea – coordinated by the Italian National Research Council and funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research within the National Research Program 2011–2013.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy

    Cristina G. Di Camillo, Carlo Cerrano, Tiziana Romagnoli & Barbara Calcinai

Authors
  1. Cristina G. Di Camillo
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  2. Carlo Cerrano
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  3. Tiziana Romagnoli
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  4. Barbara Calcinai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristina G. Di Camillo.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Fig. S1

Synthesis of material and methods applied to perform the study. (GIF 83 kb)

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Di Camillo, C.G., Cerrano, C., Romagnoli, T. et al. Living inside a sponge skeleton: the association of a sponge, a macroalga and a diatom. Symbiosis 71, 185–198 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-016-0426-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-016-0426-7

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