Temporal variations in growth and reproduction of Tedania anhelans and Chondrosia reniformis in the North Adriatic Sea

Abstract

Most works concerning growth and reproduction of Mediterranean sponges have been performed in the oligotrophic western Mediterranean while little is known about sponge dynamics in the North-western Adriatic Sea, a basin characterized by low winter temperature and eutrophy. In order to deepen our understanding of sponges in the North Adriatic Sea and verify how its peculiar trophic and physical conditions affect sponge life cycles, temporal trend of sponge cover (%) and reproductive timing of Chondrosia reniformis and Tedania (Tedania) anhelans were studied over a 1-year period looking for a possible relation with variations of temperature or food availability. In C. reniformis, although little variations of sponge cover were evidenced around the year, the number of individuals and their size increase during spring. Asexual reproduction, via drop-like propagules, mainly occurs in spring and summer, while sexual reproduction is characterized by a maximum number of oocytes in August. T. anhelans progressively grows from spring to summer and develops propagules on its surface that reach their maximum size in July. In autumn, the sponge undergoes a process of progressive shrinkage and almost disappears in winter when temperature reaches 7–8°C. Larvae occur during summer. In the North Adriatic Sea sponges have larger sizes, higher density and a wider period of oocytes production compared with the same species from the Mediterranean Sea, suggesting these differences could be due to high food availability characterizing the eutrophic Adriatic basin. On the contrary, the sharp water temperature variations and the very low winter temperature, 5–6°C lower than what has been reported for the Mediterranean Sea, regulate temporal variations in abundance and cause the disappearance of thermophile species during winter.