Competition for waterborne food resources among tropical shallow‐water sponges.
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| Title: | Competition for waterborne food resources among tropical shallow‐water sponges. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Butler, Mark J.1 (AUTHOR), McMurray, Steven E.2,3 (AUTHOR), Pawlik, Joseph R.3 (AUTHOR) pawlikj@uncw.edu |
| Source: | Ecology. Aug2025, Vol. 106 Issue 8, p1-14. 14p. |
| Subjects: | Competition (Biology), Water filtration, Marine ecology, Phytoplankton, Sponges (Invertebrates), Aquatic resources |
| Geographic Terms: | Florida, Florida Bay (Fla.) |
| Abstract: | A recurrent theme in marine ecology is that the community dynamics of sessile, suspension‐feeding animals is primarily limited by the availability of space, but in some habitats, filtration by these organisms may locally deplete water column resources, setting the stage for exploitative competition for food. We examined filtration by sponge assemblages in the shallow waters (~2 m depth) of Florida Bay (Florida, USA), where water residence times are often high and filtration by dense communities of sponges was hypothesized to deplete the water column of food, primarily picoplankton and dissolved organic matter (DOM). We transplanted three sponge species into replicate locations that differed by an order of magnitude in natural sponge community biomass. Sponge transplants were clones, enabling us to control for sponge genotype effects across all sites. The growth of sponge clones was recorded seasonally for 18–30 months. Growth of transplants placed in areas devoid of sponges was 10 times greater than growth in areas with dense sponge communities and three times greater than growth in areas with average sponge biomass. Sponge mortality was similar regardless of background sponge density. Measurements of picoplankton, DOM, and PO4 concentration confirmed an inverse relationship with sponge community biomass, whereas nitrogen concentrations in seawater were highest where sponge species replete with nitrogen‐fixing symbiotic microbial communities were most abundant. This is striking evidence that filtration of waterborne resources by sponges in shallow, coastal environments can deplete those resources sufficiently to cause exploitative competition that limits sponge growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 187616697 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Competition for waterborne food resources among tropical shallow‐water sponges. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Butler%2C+Mark+J%2E%22">Butler, Mark J.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22McMurray%2C+Steven+E%2E%22">McMurray, Steven E.</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pawlik%2C+Joseph+R%2E%22">Pawlik, Joseph R.</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> pawlikj@uncw.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Ecology%22">Ecology</searchLink>. Aug2025, Vol. 106 Issue 8, p1-14. 14p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Competition+%28Biology%29%22">Competition (Biology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Water+filtration%22">Water filtration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Marine+ecology%22">Marine ecology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phytoplankton%22">Phytoplankton</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sponges+%28Invertebrates%29%22">Sponges (Invertebrates)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Aquatic+resources%22">Aquatic resources</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Florida%22">Florida</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Florida+Bay+%28Fla%2E%29%22">Florida Bay (Fla.)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: A recurrent theme in marine ecology is that the community dynamics of sessile, suspension‐feeding animals is primarily limited by the availability of space, but in some habitats, filtration by these organisms may locally deplete water column resources, setting the stage for exploitative competition for food. We examined filtration by sponge assemblages in the shallow waters (~2 m depth) of Florida Bay (Florida, USA), where water residence times are often high and filtration by dense communities of sponges was hypothesized to deplete the water column of food, primarily picoplankton and dissolved organic matter (DOM). We transplanted three sponge species into replicate locations that differed by an order of magnitude in natural sponge community biomass. Sponge transplants were clones, enabling us to control for sponge genotype effects across all sites. The growth of sponge clones was recorded seasonally for 18–30 months. Growth of transplants placed in areas devoid of sponges was 10 times greater than growth in areas with dense sponge communities and three times greater than growth in areas with average sponge biomass. Sponge mortality was similar regardless of background sponge density. Measurements of picoplankton, DOM, and PO4 concentration confirmed an inverse relationship with sponge community biomass, whereas nitrogen concentrations in seawater were highest where sponge species replete with nitrogen‐fixing symbiotic microbial communities were most abundant. This is striking evidence that filtration of waterborne resources by sponges in shallow, coastal environments can deplete those resources sufficiently to cause exploitative competition that limits sponge growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1002/ecy.70178 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 14 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Competition (Biology) Type: general – SubjectFull: Water filtration Type: general – SubjectFull: Marine ecology Type: general – SubjectFull: Phytoplankton Type: general – SubjectFull: Sponges (Invertebrates) Type: general – SubjectFull: Aquatic resources Type: general – SubjectFull: Florida Type: general – SubjectFull: Florida Bay (Fla.) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Competition for waterborne food resources among tropical shallow‐water sponges. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Butler, Mark J. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: McMurray, Steven E. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pawlik, Joseph R. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 08 Text: Aug2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00129658 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 106 – Type: issue Value: 8 Titles: – TitleFull: Ecology Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
