EU project SponGES
Published October 15, 2020 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Differential processing of dissolved and particulate organic matter by deep-sea sponges and their microbial symbionts

Creators

  • 1. Department of Freshwater and Marine Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • 2. Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  • 3. Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
  • 4. herlands. 3Department of Fisheries and Oceans, BedforDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

Description

ABSTRACT

Deep-sea sponges create hotspots of biodiversity and biological activity in the otherwise barren deep-sea. However, it remains elusive how sponge hosts and their microbial symbionts acquire and process food in these food-limited environments. Therefore, we traced the processing (i.e. assimilation and respiration) of 13C- and 15N-enriched dissolved organic matter (DOM) and bacteria by three dominant North Atlantic deep-sea sponges: the high microbial abundance (HMA) demosponge Geodia barretti, the low microbial abundance (LMA) demosponge Hymedesmia paupertas, and the LMA hexactinellid Vazella pourtalesii. We also assessed the assimilation of both food sources into sponge- and bacteria-specific phospholipid-derived fatty acid (PLFA) biomarkers. All sponges were capable of assimilating DOM as well as bacteria. However, processing of the two food sources differed considerably between the tested species: the DOM assimilation-to-respiration efficiency was highest for the HMA sponge, yet uptake rates were 4–5 times lower compared to LMA sponges. In contrast, bacteria were assimilated most efficiently and at the highest rate by the hexactinellid compared to the demosponges. Our results indicate that phylogeny and functional traits (e.g., abundance of microbial symbionts, morphology) influence food preferences and diet composition of sponges, which further helps to understand their role as key ecosystem engineers of deep-sea habitats.

Notes

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We want to dedicate this publication to our EU Horizon 2020 SponGES project coordinator and co-author Prof. Hans Tore Rapp, who sadly, and too soon, passed on March 7, 2020. We thank all our collaborators at the EU Horizon 2020 SponGES project, Barry MacDonald, Sarah Thompson, Lindsay Beazley, and Gabrielle Tompkins at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO), Nova Scotia, Canada, for their help with collecting and maintaining the V. pourtalesii specimens, and all colleagues at the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Bergen, Norway, for the use of facilities and equipment. Many thanks to the ROV crews of both the ÆGIR 6000 in Norway and the ROPOS in Canada for their careful collection of the sponges. Thanks to Erik Wurz for his help maintaining the onboard aquaria. We also thank Jorien Schoorl and Eva de Rijke for their technical assistance at the University of Amsterdam, and Arnold van Dijk, Klaas Nierop, and Desmond Eefting for their technical assistance at the University of Utrecht. Many thanks also to Sandra Maier, Gydo Geijer, David Lankes, and Sara Campana for their help with several fatty acid extractions and to Dick van Oevelen, Peter van Breugel, and Pieter van Rijswijk for help with the DI13C analysis and algal batch cultures. Lastly, we thank Titus Rombouts, Clea van de Ven, and Angela Marulanda Gomez for their help in the field. FUNDING. This project has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (SponGES grant agreement n° 679849 and ERC starting grant agreement n° 715513 to Dr. J.M. de Goeij). This document only reflects the authors' views and the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. Canadian cruises and contributions were funded by Fisheries and Ocean's Canada's International Governance Strategy Science Program through project "Marine Biological Diversity Beyond Areas of National Jurisdiction (BBNJ): 3-Tiers of Diversity (Genes-Species-Communities)" led by Dr. E. Kenchington (2017–2019).

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Additional details

Related works

Is identical to
Journal article: 10.1038/s41598-020-74670-0 (DOI)
Journal article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-74670-0#Abs1 (URL)
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Technical note: https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41598-020-74670-0/MediaObjects/41598_2020_74670_MOESM1_ESM.docx (URL)

Funding

European Commission
SponGES – Deep-sea Sponge Grounds Ecosystems of the North Atlantic: an integrated approach towards their preservation and sustainable exploitation 679849
European Commission
SPONGE ENGINE – Fast and efficient sponge engines drive and modulate the food web of reef ecosystems 715513