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Sponge gardens of Ningaloo Reef (Carnarvon Shelf, Western Australia) are biodiversity hotspots

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Abstract

During a multi-agency Australian Government initiative sponges were sampled at three areas from Carnarvon Shelf, NW Australia. Sponges were identified to lowest possible level, largely as morphospecies (84%). A searchable and interactive taxonomic catalogue was created and is publicly accessible through the Ningaloo Atlas collated by the Australian Institute for Marine Science. The sponge gardens on Carnarvon Shelf are patchily distributed but highly diverse and occasionally extremely dense. We examined 754 specimens and distinguished 261 species belonging to 112 genera. Species accumulation curves indicate that this species number does not represent local sponge biodiversity, which is projected to reach up to 840 species with additional sampling. Many observed species appear to be new to science, 81% occurred only at one of the three areas, about 56% were singletons, and 76% had a wet weight of ≤500 g. Detailed spatial analyses were difficult due to sampling design, but general trends could be detected. The northern areas, where the Australian continental shelf is narrowest, favour sponges with a higher content of inorganic skeleton and growth forms able to withstand the strong tidal currents and exposure typical for this area. Sponges were most abundant at the shelf edge, where massive forms dominated. While the central and northern areas are protected by zoning regulations, the southern area had the highest species diversity, the largest individuals and the densest distributions, suggesting additional conservation measures may be required. Western Australia is clearly an important, but under-studied bioregion for sponges, and future research foci are proposed.

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Acknowledgments

The present results are the product of input by many people. Fieldwork was conducted in collaboration between AIMS, Geoscience Australia and WAM on board the RV Solander. During the cruise, sponges were processed by C. Battershill, J. Colquhoun, O. Gomez, A. Heyward, M. McArthur, R. Przeslawski and C. Wolff. E. Willen taught CS how to make wax–glycerol preparations. Help in the laboratory was provided by part time assistants S. Tecchiato, S. Yaqub, L. Roger and R. Ninio. We appreciate all the good assistance received at CMCA at UWA: P. Clode, D. Crisan, L. Kirilak, J. Murphy, S. Parry, P. Rigby and A. Suvorova. Participants of the February 2010 sponge taxonomy workshop in Perth deserve special thanks for finalising and correcting preliminary sponge identifications during 5 days of very intensive work: B. Alvarez (Glasby), C. Battershill, O. Gomez, L. Goudie, A. Pisera, S. Sorokin and P. Sutcliffe. Additional taxonomic advice was received via e-mail from P. Cardenas, E. Hajdu, J. Hooper, R. van Soest and J. Vacelet. M. Case at AIMS created the portfolio on the descriptive sponge data which is now available as the CERF Sponge Catalogue, B. Radford provided the map in Fig. 1, and the Ningaloo Atlas was implemented by him and T. Ridgway. R. Fisher initiated CS into the skills of biodiversity analyses. This work has been partly funded through the CERF program, an Australian Government initiative. The CERF Marine Biodiversity Hub is a collaborative partnership between the University of Tasmania, CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship, Geoscience Australia, Australian Institute of Marine Science and Museum Victoria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Oceans Institute at The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, MO96, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Christine Hanna Lydia Schönberg

  2. Department of Aquatic Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, WA, 6986, Australia

    Jane Fromont

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  1. Christine Hanna Lydia Schönberg
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Correspondence to Christine Hanna Lydia Schönberg.

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Guest editors: M. Maldonado, X. Turon, M. A. Becerro & M. J. Uriz / Ancient animals, new challenges: developments in sponge research

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Schönberg, C.H.L., Fromont, J. Sponge gardens of Ningaloo Reef (Carnarvon Shelf, Western Australia) are biodiversity hotspots. Hydrobiologia 687, 143–161 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0863-5

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