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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 58(3)

Relating species traits to environmental variables in Indonesian coral reef sponge assemblages

Nicole J. de Voogd A C and Daniel F. R. Cleary A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A National Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.

B Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94766, 1090 GT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

C Corresponding author. Email: voogd@naturalis.nl

Marine and Freshwater Research 58(3) 240-249 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF06125
Submitted: 17 July 2006  Accepted: 10 January 2007   Published: 9 March 2007

Abstract

A key goal in ecology is to understand how species with given traits vary with changing environmental conditions. In the Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia, we identified environmental gradients associated with significant variation in sponge species traits. These were (1) an on-to-offshore gradient, (2) a gradient from locally perturbed reef sites characterised by fluctuating sediment load concentrations and poor water transparency to locally pristine sites characterised by good water transparency and (3) a depth gradient. Species with a massive growth form were associated with inshore reef environments, whereas species with a cup growth form were linked to offshore reefs with a high coral cover. Weakly bioactive species and species with a globular, fan or fistulose growth form were associated with locally perturbed reef environments as indicated by fluctuating sediment levels and reduced water transparency, whereas strongly bioactive species and species with a massive-encrusting and tube growth form were associated with more pristine reef environments with good water transparency. With respect to depth, oviparous species and species with a cup and massive growth form were most strongly associated with deeper transects, whereas species with a ramose, massive creeping and massive-encrusting growth form were most strongly associated with shallower transects. Results of the present study indicate that environmental conditions and species traits interact to determine the composition of sponges across coral reefs.

Additional keywords: ordination, Porifera, RLQ analysis, Sulawesi.


Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical research (WOTRO Grant W84-474), the Dutch Royal Academy of Science (KNAW), and the STIR-Network. The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) supported the logistics within Indonesia. All field assistants are thanked for their support. This publication is a result of the project ‘Climate change and Indonesian coral reef biotas’ of the Council for Earth and Life Sciences (ALW 852.00.050).


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