In four shallow and mesophotic tropical reef sponges from Guam the microbial community largely depends on host identity.

ABSTRACT: Sponges (phylum Porifera) are important members of almost all aquatic ecosystems, and are renowned for hosting often dense and diverse microbial communities. While the specificity of the sponge microbiota seems to be closely related to host phylogeny, the environmental factors that could shape differences within local sponge-specific communities remain less understood. On tropical coral reefs, sponge habitats can span from shallow areas to deeper, mesophotic sites. These habitats differ in terms of environmental factors such as light, temperature, and food availability, as well as anthropogenic impact. In order to study the host specificity and potential influence of varying habitats on the sponge microbiota within a local area, four tropical reef sponges, Rhabdastrella globostellata, Call

SUBMITTER: Steinert G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4841226 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature