%0 Journal Article
%T Sponge Farming Trials: Survival, Attachment, and Growth of Two Indo-Pacific Sponges, Neopetrosia sp. and Stylissa massa
%A Karin Schiefenh£¿vel
%A Andreas Kunzmann
%J Journal of Marine Biology
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/417360
%X Sponges, an important part of the reef ecosystem, are of commercial value for public aquaria, pharmacology and chemistry. With the growing demand for sponges, natural resources are at risk of being overexploited. Growing of sponges in artificial or semi natural farms is an alternative. In this study different farming methods were tested on two Indo-Pacific sponge species, Neopetrosia sp. and Stylissa massa. Survival, growth and attachment ability were observed with different substrates (suspended ropes, coral boulders and artificial substrate), two types of aquaria with different water volume and two different field sites in Indonesia. The two species responded differently to their individual locations and environmental stresses. Survival, growth and attachment rates of Neopetrosia sp. at the field site are depending on the cultivation method, we found highest volume increment (27¨C35%) for a horizontal line in the field. Whereas the volume increase for S. massa did not show any differences for the different transplantation methods, Neopetrosia sp. generally showed higher rates than S. massa. Further aquaria experiments, for example, on nutrient supply, should be tested to receive more detailed data about sponges, particularly because almost all fragments of both species showed a decline or steady state in mean length. 1. Introduction As filtering organisms, sponges play an important role in reef ecosystems. Like other benthic suspension feeders, they are responsible for a large share of the energy flow from the pelagic to the benthic system [1, 2]. Sponges actively move water through their body, an advantage that enables sponges to inhabit different types of habitats also at different depths [1]. Sponges were used successfully for reef rehabilitation because of their ability to clean water by filtering small particles like detritus, algae, and bacteria, and they also hold rubble and corals together [3, 4]. Sponges are also commercially important for farming (bath sponge) and ornamental trade and as a new resource of chemicals for pharmacology [5¨C9]. Sponges are very effective active filter feeders. The volume of water passing through a sponge can be enormous; a sponge with 10£¿cm in length and four cm in diameter can filter 80£¿L water in 24£¿h [10]. Due to that sponge farms are tested for their potential as biofilters near fish farms or land-based sewage water [9]. Their ability to reproduce from small pieces makes sponges very attractive for commercial farming [11, 12]. Sponges with symbiotic relationships are of high interest for public aquaria because
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jmb/2012/417360/