Osculum dynamics and filtration activity in small single-osculum explants of the demosponge Halichondria panicea

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 572:117-128 (2017) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12155 Osculum dynamics and filtration activity in small single-osculum explants of the demosponge Halichondria panicea Lars Kumala1,2,3,*, Hans Ulrik Riisgård1, Donald Eugene Canfield4 1Marine Biological Research Centre, University of Southern Denmark, 5300 Kerteminde, Denmark 2Max-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging and Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense M, Denmark 3Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, 18057 Rostock, Germany 4Nordic Center for Earth Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense M, Denmark *Corresponding author: kumala@biology.sdu.dk ABSTRACT: Contraction-inflation behavior, including the closure and opening of the exhalant opening (osculum), is common among sponges. This behavior may temporally affect filtration activity, making it difficult to study and understand sponge feeding biology. To examine the interplay between osculum dynamics and filtration activity, small (18 mm3) single-osculum explants of the demosponge Halichondria panicea were studied. Time-lapse video stereo-microscope recordings of the osculum cross-sectional area (OSA) were made simultaneously with measurements of the filtration rate (~15°C, ~20 PSU) using the clearance method. Osculum dynamics, as expressed by temporal variation of the OSA, including osculum contraction and expansion, correlated with variability in the explant filtration rate, and no water pumping was observed during periods of osculum closure. A linear relationship between filtration rate (FR) and OSA revealed a constant exhalant jet velocity: vjet = FR/OSA = 2.3 ± CI95% 0.13 cm s-1. The mean filtration rate of explants was 0.28 ± CI95% 0.06 ml min-1, corresponding to a volume-specific filtration rate of 15 ml min-1 (cm3 sponge)-1, which is 2 to 3 times higher than that reported for larger individuals of H. panicea with multiple oscula. This is the first demonstration of a direct relationship between filter feeding and osculum dynamics in a sponge. KEY WORDS: Filtration · Osculum · Contraction · Pumping activity · Sponge explant Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Kumala L, Riisgård HU, Canfield DE (2017) Osculum dynamics and filtration activity in small single-osculum explants of the demosponge Halichondria panicea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 572:117-128. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12155 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 572. Online publication date: May 31, 2017 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2017 Inter-Research.