Dysidea etheria

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Dysidea etheria
Dysidea etheria Preserved Specimen.jpg
A preserved specimen from the Caribbean
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Porifera
Class: Demospongiae
Order: Dictyoceratida
Family: Dysideidae
Genus: Dysidea
Species:
D. etheria
Binomial name
Dysidea etheria
Laubenfels, 1936

Dysidea etheria, commonly known as the ethereal sponge or heavenly sponge, is a species of lobate sponge within the class Demospongiae. [1] This marine sponge is known for its light blue color and can be found in the Caribbean as well as off the coasts of Florida and Georgia. [2] Like all other poriferans, D. etheria is capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction. [3] The use of spicule collection as well as chemical defenses allows D. etheria to protect itself against predators such as the zebra doris and the orange knobby star. [4] [5] D. etheria is also known as a host species of the invasive brittle star Ophiothela mirabilis. [6] Lastly, various molecular biology studies have utilized D. etheria to both study foreign particle transport in sponges and to isolate novel molecules. [7] [8] [9]

Contents

Etymology

The specific epithet "etheria" was given to this species of sponge by Laubenfels upon its discovery in the Dry Tortugas in 1936 due to its sky-blue color. [10]

Description

Dysidea etheria is a species of lobate sponge that are massive and semi-incrusting. [1] They are identifiable by their internal and external light blue coloration. [1] The exopinacoderm has also been observed to be colored a brownish grey. [1]

The shaping of the sponge's lobes have been described as elongated, digitated, or lamellar. [1] The size of D. etheria can range from ten to fifteen centimeters in width and four to seven centimeters in height. [1] The diameter of the sponge's lobes have been observed to range from two to four centimeters. [1]

The sponge's oscula, ranging from five to ten millimeters in width, are typically found on the tops of its lobes. [1] The oscula also have a transparent iris-membrane, and the oscular membrane openings have occasionally been observed to be compound. [1] One millimeter high sharp conules make up the surface of the sponge and are spaced three millimeters apart. [1]

D. etheria has a thin exopinacoderm and a flesh-like choanosome. [1] The sponge also has an irregular skeleton which is loosely fibroreticular. Calcareous debris is contained within the white fibers with which the skeleton is made up of. [1]

Habitat and distribution

Found within marine environments of depths reaching up to 40 meters, D. etheria inhabits bays and lagoons. [11] This species has been spotted on a variety of natural and manmade substrates. A majority of such substrates are known to be hard and vertical, such as on docks or pilings. [11] Another manmade substrate is the hull of a concrete ship where D. etheria was seen on a scleractinian. [1] As for natural substrates, D. etheria has been seen on rocks, turtle grass blades, mangrove roots, mollusk and crab shells, coral skeletons, algae, and even other sponges. [1] [11]

D. etheria is known to be distributed across the Caribbean as well as off the coasts of Florida and Georgia. [2]

Ecology

Reproduction

Both sexual and asexual reproduction are utilized by poriferans. [3] Sponges are hermaphroditic when sexual reproduction occurs, utilizing different timing of sperm and egg production. [12] D. etheria asexually reproduce through fragmentation. [3] [12] The totipotent abilities of sponge cells allows for fragments of the sponge to regrow into a new sponge. [3] [4]

Predators

The nudibranch Felimare zebra , and the sea star Echinaster echinophorus have both been spotted preying on D. etheria. [5]

Defenses

Through the collection and storage of spicule fragments within the mesohyl, D. etheria is capable of deterring predators. [4] [13] The production of toxins is also believed to act as a defense against predators. [5] Chemical extracts from D. etheria have been shown to be deterrents to generalist reef fishes, hermit crabs, and sea stars. [14]

Host species

Ophiothela mirabilis on host species Dysidea etheria Ophiothela mirabilis on Dysidea etheria.jpg
Ophiothela mirabilis on host species Dysidea etheria

D. etheria is registered as one of many host species of the invasive brittle star Ophiothela mirabilis. [6] Utilizing a host species is believed to protect O. mirabilis from predation and allow for new environments to be colonized more easily. [6]

Biochemistry

D. etheria was the first recorded sponge to have plant growth regulatory indoles isolated from it. [7] The plant growth regulator, indole-3-acetamide, promotes the growth of roots in lettuce seedlings. [7]

A new protein phosphatase inhibitor, named dysidiolide, was also isolated from D. etheria. [8]

D. etheria has also been utilized in research to understand how sponges transport foreign particles to specific locations within their bodies. [9] Mesohyl cells have been observed to migrate in a coordinated fashion that allows for organized transport of particles. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Echinoderm</span> Exclusively marine phylum of animals with generally 5-point radial symmetry

An echinoderm is any deuterostomal animal of the phylum Echinodermata, which includes starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers, as well as the sessile sea lilies or "stone lilies". While bilaterally symmetrical as larvae, as adults echinoderms are recognisable by their usually five-pointed radial symmetry, and are found on the sea bed at every ocean depth from the intertidal zone to the abyssal zone. The phylum contains about 7,000 living species, making it the second-largest group of deuterostomes after the chordates, as well as the largest marine-only phylum. The first definitive echinoderms appeared near the start of the Cambrian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sponge</span> Animals of the phylum Porifera

Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera, are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demosponge</span> Class of sponges

Demosponges (Demospongiae) are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include greater than 90% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide. They are sponges with a soft body that covers a hard, often massive skeleton made of calcium carbonate, either aragonite or calcite. They are predominantly leuconoid in structure. Their "skeletons" are made of spicules consisting of fibers of the protein spongin, the mineral silica, or both. Where spicules of silica are present, they have a different shape from those in the otherwise similar glass sponges. Some species, in particular from the Antarctic, obtain the silica for spicule building from the ingestion of siliceous diatoms.

Arturia canariensis, commonly known as the yellow calcareous sponge, is a species of sponge in the family Clathrinidae. It is found in shallow seas in the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, the Adriatic Sea and the Caribbean Sea. The specific epithet "canariensis" was given to this species because it was first described from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.

<i>Ircinia strobilina</i> Species of sponge

Ircinia strobilina is a species of sponge in the family Irciniidae. It is grey or shiny black in colour, with spiny structures (conules) dotting the surface. The spiny structures are interconnected by ridges, though not arranged in an orderly lattice. This species is globular and massive in shape, but usually no more than 0.3 metres (1 ft) across. I. strobilina is lobed and spherical and has a tough consistency. The large excurrent pores are located in depressions at the top of the sponge. Many smaller incurrent pores are scattered across the surface, more densely at the sides.

<i>Felimare zebra</i> Species of gastropod

Felimare zebra, common name the zebra doris, is a colourful species of sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Spongia officinalis</i> Species of sponge

Spongia officinalis, better known as a variety of bath sponge, is a commercially used sea sponge. Individuals grow in large lobes with small openings and are formed by a mesh of primary and secondary fibers. It is light grey to black in color. It is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea up to 100 meters deep on rocky or sandy surfaces.

<i>Callyspongia aculeata</i> Species of sponge

Callyspongia (Cladochalina) aculeata, commonly known as the branching vase sponge is a species of sea sponge in the family Callyspongiidae. Poriferans are typically characterized by ostia, pores that filter out plankton, with an osculum as the opening which water leaves through, and choanocytes trap food particles.

Homaxinella balfourensis is a species of sea sponge in the family Suberitidae. It is found in the seas around Antarctica and can grow in two forms, either branching out in one plane like a fan or forming an upright club-like structure.

<i>Tectitethya crypta</i> Species of sponge

Tectitethya crypta is a species of demosponge belonging to the family Tethyidae. Its classified family is characterized by fourteen different known genera, one of them being Tectitethya. It is a massive, shallow-water sponge found in the Caribbean Sea. This sponge was first discovered by Werner Bergmann in 1945 and later classified by de Laubenfels in 1949. It is located in reef areas situated on softer substrates such as sand or mud. Oftentimes, it is covered in sand and algae. This results in an appearance that is cream colored/ gray colored; however, when the animal is washed free of its sediment coverings, its body plan appears more green and gray. It's characterized with ostia peaking out of its body cavity, with the ability to abruptly open or close, changing its desired water flow rate through its mesohyl.

Agelas flabelliformis, also known as the elephant ear sponge, is a species of demosponge. It takes the form of a large leathery slender flap and is found in the Caribbean area at depths down to 100 metres (330 ft).

<i>Haliclona caerulea</i> Species of sponge

Haliclona caerulea is a species of marine sponge in the family Chalinidae. It is an encrusting tubular sponge that grows anchored on rocky surfaces of coral reefs.

Dysidea arenaria is a species of marine sponge (poriferan) found in the Pacific Ocean. It is a member of the order Dictyoceratida, one of two sponge orders that make up the keratose or "horny" sponges in which a mineral skeleton is absent and a skeleton of organic fibers is present instead.

<i>Aplysina fistularis</i> Species of sponge

Aplysina fistularis, also known as the yellow tube sponge or yellow sponge , is a species of sea sponge in the order Verongiida. Aplysina fistularis is a golden or orange-brown color with a conulose surface. The animal is abundant in the Caribbean, where it is commonly found in reefs of open water areas. This sponge was first described by the Prussian zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1766.

Biemna variantia is a species of sponge in the family Biemnidae. It is native to the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. This species was first described in 1858 by the British naturalist James Scott Bowerbank, who gave it the name Halichondria variantia. It was later moved to the genus Biemna and is the type species of the genus. The type locality is Tenby, Wales.

Hymeniacidon kitchingi is a species of sponge in the class Demospongiae. It is found in shallow waters in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. This species was first described in 1935 by the British zoologist Maurice Burton. He placed it in a new genus because of its unusual spicules, and named it Rhaphidostyla kitchingi, in honour of Dr J. A. Kitching, who had collected the original specimen. It was later transferred to the genus Hymeniacidon.

Calcifibrospongiidae is a family of sponges belonging to the order Haplosclerida. The order Haplosclerida is distinguished by isodictyal skeleton. In general, Porifera are basal animals with bodies full of pores and channels. Calcifibrospongiidae includes the species Calcifibrospongia actinostromarioides. There have only been ten recorded occurrences of this species: in Hogsty Reef and San Salvador, as well as in the subtropics of the Bahamas.

Oscarella tuberculata is a species of sponge in the order Homosclerophorida. It is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, where it forms encrusting colonies on rocks and other hard surfaces.

<i>Ophiothela mirabilis</i> Species of echinoderm

Ophiothela mirabilis is a species of ophiuroid brittle star within the family Ophiotrichidae. O. mirabilis is an epizoic species which have a non-parasitic relationship with host sponges or gorgonians. Although native to the Pacific Ocean, it has invaded the Caribbean and southwestern Atlantic since late 2000. Many of its characteristics, including reproduction and diet, allow O. mirabilis opportunities to quickly propagate and spread through habitats.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Wiedenmayer, F. (1977). Shallow-water sponges of the western Bahamas. Experientia Supplementum. Birkhäuser Basel. pp. 73–74. ISBN   978-3-0348-5797-0.
  2. 1 2 Diaz M.C. (2011) Mangrove and coral reef sponge faunas: untold stories about shallow water Porifera in the Caribbean. In: Maldonado M., Turon X., Becerro M., Jesús Uriz M. (eds) Ancient Animals, New Challenges. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 219. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4688-6_15
  3. 1 2 3 4 Pechenik, J.A. (2000). Biology of the Invertebrates Fourth Edition. Boston: McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. p. 73.
  4. 1 2 3 Cowden, R.R. (1970). "Connective Tissue in Six Marine Sponges: A Histological and Histochemical Study". Special Edition Magazine for Microscopic-Anatomical Research. 82 (4): 557–569. PMID   5501157.
  5. 1 2 3 Grode, Stephen H.; Cardellina, John H. (1984). "Sesquiterpenes from the Sponge Dysidea etheria and the Nudibranch Hypselodoris zebra". Journal of Natural Products. 47 (1): 76–83. doi:10.1021/np50031a009. ISSN   0163-3864.
  6. 1 2 3 Mantelatto, Marcelo Checoli; Vidon, Lara Figueiredo; Silveira, Rosana Beatriz; Menegola, Carla; Rocha, Rosana Moreira da; Creed, Joel Christopher (2016-03-30). "Host species of the non-indigenous brittle star Ophiothela mirabilis (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea): an invasive generalist in Brazil?". Marine Biodiversity Records. 9 (1): 8. doi: 10.1186/s41200-016-0013-x . ISSN   1755-2672.
  7. 1 2 3 Cardellina, John H.; Nigh, David; VanWagenen, Bradford C. (1986). "Plant Growth Regulatory Indoles from the Sponges Dysidea etheria and Ulosa ruetzleri". Journal of Natural Products. 49 (6): 1065–1067. doi:10.1021/np50048a015. ISSN   0163-3864.
  8. 1 2 Gunasekera, Sarath P.; McCarthy, Peter J.; Kelly-Borges, Michelle; Lobkovsky, Emil; Clardy, Jon (1996-01-01). "Dysidiolide: A Novel Protein Phosphatase Inhibitor from the Caribbean Sponge Dysidea etheria de Laubenfels". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 118 (36): 8759–8760. doi:10.1021/ja961961+. ISSN   0002-7863.
  9. 1 2 3 Teragawa, Carolyn K. (1986-04-01). "Particle transport and incorporation during skeleton formation in a keratose sponge: dysidea etheria". The Biological Bulletin. 170 (2): 321–334. doi:10.2307/1541812. ISSN   0006-3185. JSTOR   1541812.
  10. ↑ De Laubenfels, Max Walker (1936). A discussion of the sponge fauna of the Dry Tortugas in particular and the West Indies in general,with material for a revision of the families and orders of the Porifera. [Washington]. hdl:2027/wu.89036561199.
  11. 1 2 3 Sterrer, W. (1986). Marine Fauna and Flora of Bermuda: A Systematic Guide to Identification of Marine Organisms. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
  12. 1 2 Ruppert, E.E.; Fox, R.S; Barnes, R.D. (2004). Invertebrate Zoology. Seventh Edition. Belmont, CA: Thomson-Brooks/Cole.
  13. ↑ Teragawa, C.K. (1985). "Mechanical Function and Regulation of the skeletal Network in Dysidea". 3rd International Sponge Conference.
  14. ↑ Waddell, B.; Pawlik, J. R. (2000). "Defenses of Caribbean sponges against invertebrate predators. II. Assays with sea stars". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 195: 133–144. Bibcode:2000MEPS..195..133W. doi: 10.3354/meps195133 .
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