Population structure and microbial community diversity of two common tetillid sponges in a tropical reef lagoon.

ABSTRACT: Sponges are predicted to dominate future reef ecosystems influenced by anthropogenic stressors and global climate change. The ecological success of sponges is attributed to their complex physiology, which is in part due to the diversity of their associated prokaryotic microbiome. However, the lack of information on the microbial community of many sponge species makes it difficult to gauge their interactions and functional contributions to the ecosystem. Here, we investigated the population dynamics and microbial community composition of two tetillid sponges identified as Cinachyrella sp. and Paratetilla sp., which are common on coral bommies in a reef lagoon in Bolinao, northwestern Philippines. The sponges ranged in size from 2.75 ± 2.11 to 6.33 ± 3.98 cm (mean ± stan

SUBMITTER: Baquiran JIP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7183310 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature