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Brief Summary

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This is one of the most ecologically important sponges in Alaska and perhaps the most thoroughly studied sponge species in the North Pacific Ocean. Due to its rigid skeleton, this species is an important structural component of the sponge reefs reported along the Pacific Coast of Canada (Conway et al., 1991, 2005; Krautter et al., 2001) and more recently in southern Southeast Alaska. Juvenile golden king crabs (Lithodes aequispina) use the spongocoel as refuge habitat in the Aleutian Islands (Stone, 2006) and in the Bering Sea Canyons (Stone, unpubl. data, 2007). The bigmouth sculpin (Hemitripterus bolini) deposits its eggs in the spongocoel in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska (Busby3). This species is preyed upon by the sea stars Hippasteria spp. and Poraniopsis inflata in the eastern Gulf of Alaska. Aphrocallistes vastus can be distinguished from the very similar Heterochone calyx calyx by the lack of pinular hexactins on the inner (atrial) surface and by the possession of very robust oxyhexasters with primary rays subsumed in the swollen centrum. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean, locally common and abundant in some areas; in Alaska from the Bering Sea to Southeast Alaska; elsewhere, it is found from Japan to Baja Mexico.

Cloud sponge

provided by wikipedia EN

The cloud sponge (Aphrocallistes vastus) is a species of sea sponge in the class Hexactinellida.[2] It is a deep-water reef-forming animal. The species was first described by F.E. Schulze in 1886.[1]

Description

The cloud sponge takes the form of a large cup with an irregularly folded wall about 5 millimetres (0.20 in) thick. This is pierced by many pores about 1 millimetre (0.039 in) wide and covered by a thin dermal membrane. The skeletal elements form a lattice-like structure made up of fused spicules of silica. These mesh together and project into the adjoining canals. There is a fir-tree like concentration of spicules running through the body wall with the branches either having rounded or knobbly ends. [3] The form of the sponge varies according to the location in which it is found. It often has a mitten-like structure or may be tall and cylindrical or bowl-like but in areas with strong currents can be dense and compact.[4]

Distribution

The cloud sponge is found in the northern Pacific Ocean. Its range includes Japan, Siberia, the Aleutian Islands and the west coast of North America from Alaska southwards to California and Mexico.[1] It is a reef-building species found in deep waters on the western Canadian shelf growing on sediment-free rocks. It grows and is more easily studied in fiords off the coast of British Columbia at depths of only 25 metres (82 ft).[4]

Ecology

The cloud sponge is one of several species of glass sponge that form slow growing reefs in deep water. Their skeletons create habitat for diverse communities of invertebrates and fish. Its body is primarily made of biogenic silica (>90%)[5] which is of no nutritional value yet dorid nudibranchs (Diaulula lentiginosa and Doris odhneri) have been shown to engorge themselves with cloud sponge.[6]

The cloud sponge is fragile and has a texture rather like dry toast. Its growth rate is slow with juveniles growing into moderate sized individuals in ten or twenty years. It is easily damaged by seabed trawling and seems to be killed by severe trauma although small injuries can be repaired.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Aphrocallistes vastus Schulze, 1886". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  2. ^ "Aphrocallistes vastus (cloud sponge)". UniProt. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  3. ^ Schulze, F. E. (1887). "Aphrocallistes vastus Schulze, 1886". Porifera. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  4. ^ a b c Austin, William C.; Conway, Kim W.; Barrie, J. Vaughn; Krautter. Manfred (2007). "Growth and morphology of a reef-forming glass sponge, Aphrocallistes vastus (Hexactinellida), and implications for recovery from widespread trawl damage" (PDF). Porifera Research: Biodiversity, Innovation and Sustainability.
  5. ^ Chu, Jwf; Maldonado, M; Yahel, G; Leys, Sp (2011-11-15). "Glass sponge reefs as a silicon sink". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 441: 1–14. doi:10.3354/meps09381. ISSN 0171-8630.
  6. ^ Chu, Jackson W. F.; Leys, Sally P. (2012). "The dorid nudibranchs Peltodoris lentiginosa and Archidoris odhneri as predators of glass sponges". Invertebrate Biology. 131 (2): 75–81. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7410.2012.00262.x. ISSN 1744-7410.
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Cloud sponge: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

The cloud sponge (Aphrocallistes vastus) is a species of sea sponge in the class Hexactinellida. It is a deep-water reef-forming animal. The species was first described by F.E. Schulze in 1886.

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Biology

provided by World Register of Marine Species
TEM & SEM descriptions of the flagellar vanes of the choanomeres (=collar bodies)

Reference

Mehl, D.; Reiswig, H.M. (1991). The presence of flagellar vanes in choanomeres of Porifera and their possible phylogenetic implications. Zoologische Systematik und Evolutionsforschung. 29: 312-319.

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