Ten new sponge species discovered in Kahne Bay, Hawaii

In a series of studies published this week and last month in Journals Peerj and Zootaxa, researchers at the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) Toonen-Bowen (Tobo) Lab say that technology explores both genes and structural properties. 10 new species of marine sponge were introduced using. Despite their distinction as one of the oldest living beings on Earth and their important role in maintaining the coral reef ecosystem, marine sponge is highly studied.

The HIMB is located and researched in Kāne’ohe Bay, filled with undescribed sponge and non-native species introduced from the Caribbean and western Indo-Pacific, a small isolated “patch” filled with undescribed sponge and non-native species introduced from the Caribbean and the Western Indo-Pacific. There are plenty of “leaf” available. . These findings contribute to broadening our understanding of sponge biodiversity across Hawaiian archipelago and Oceania.

“We used the autonomous reef monitoring structure (arm) to collect sponges from within the reef,” says Scientist at the Park (SIP) intern at Karokohonokohau National Historical Park, and six new sponge studies. explains Rachel Nanley, the lead author of the book. The species has been identified.

“These structures mimic the mysterious environment of coral reefs, allowing them to observe and document species without harming the surrounding reefs. After sponge collection, they use DNA to view them. I narrowed down the species that are present in the world. These sponges exist everywhere else in the world, and I found that by comparing these traits, I found this integrated taxonomic approach. The Bay of Cahne is science I’m not used to it, and it’s not documented anywhere else in the world.”

Sponges are notoriously difficult to study for a variety of reasons.

“Sponges are found in “every corner” of the reef, making it difficult to collect coral reefs without destroying them,” said Jan Vicente, author of Tobolabo’s PhD in a Zoo Saxa article. Masu. Species were detected.

“The sponges are also very small and vulnerable, with very limited morphological properties that make discernible with sincere eyes. The sponge communities within these enigmatic spaces are also very dynamic. The lifespan of sponges is only two months!, and they can eliminate the following:

“Taxing is boring,” adds Nunley. “It involves all the little details. Lacking details can completely change your species. But the challenge makes it much more rewarding, and the taxonomy simply explains the species more than It provides valuable information to the local community and the scientific community.”

The harsh work paid off, detecting so many previously unknown species in the patch reef surrounding the island, and surrounding the lab surrounding the island surprised the researchers.

“A previous assessment of sponge diversity in the Bay of Cahne had only 30 sponge species in the Bay,” Vicente said. “However, these previous studies have not targeted every corner of the reef. The Mok-o-Roye reefs surprise us every day how well we know about its biodiversity. This patch After decades of research on leaf, we haven’t reached it yet. We have a full understanding of sponge biodiversity.”

As oceans change and coral reefs face unprecedented threats, it is important to understand the dynamics of coral reef ecosystems. Sponges play a central role in the regulation and maintenance of these systems.

“Sponges are widely underrated despite their role in cycling of nutrients that help coral reef nutrients maintain coral reef biodiversity in rare remote island archipelagos,” Vicente said. It emphasizes. “Discovering such incredible diversity of these ecologically important species shed light on its role in nutrition cycling.”

When the new sponge species were named, the researchers chose a name that honors either Moku o Lohe’s Mo’olelo or “his Hawaiian” to depict various diagnostic letters.

“Many of the species we found are unfamiliar with science,” explains the lead researcher at Tobolabo and co-authors of both research, Robert Tonen. “They were discovered in Kahne Bay off the coast of Mok-o-Loue Island, and their names come from native Hawaiian stories. “Lo’e” says, “the three people who remained integrity within their family.” He was a sister to the brothers of the brothers.”

Tonen adds that these findings are likely the first for many in the future. Using weapons from the Kaneoe Bay, the researchers sampled over 1,000 specimens from the mysterious fauna of the coral reef, and retrieved weapons from five different ecolejos in the Pacific Ocean. In time, they want to understand the full diversity of Oceania. They want to determine which species are endemic, native, and which species are introduced into Hawaiian archipelagos, and learn how the species are biogeographically connected. I want to.