Abstract
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation of two Antarctic sponges, Phorbas glaberrima and Tedania charcoti, showed that the exopinacoderm effects a direct uptake of benthic diatoms which settle on the sponge surface. In P. glaberrima, planktonic diatoms were also observed penetrating through the inhalant system, the primary way of feeding in sponges. Benthic diatoms which accumulate in the mesohyl underneath the exopinacoderm help to strengthen the sponge cortex and may be an alimentary source during oligotrophic periods in the Antarctic environment.
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Gaino, E., Bavestrello, G., Cattaneo-Vietti, R. et al. Scanning electron microscope evidence for diatom uptake by two Antarctic sponges. Polar Biol 14, 55–58 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00240273
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00240273