Among the ecological roles that sponges play in marine ecosystems, one of the highlights is their ability to host a wide diversity and abundance of epibenthic organisms. However, of the different marine environments, this role has been less investigated in seagrass-dwelling sponges. In this study, the main objective was to determine whether the structure of the associated faunal assemblages in two common sympatric species of seagrass-dwelling sponges (Amorphinopsis atlantica and Haliclona implexiformis) vary depending on the volume and morphology of the host sponge as well as the environment to which both sponges are exposed. Even though the collection sites had the same habitat type (seagrass meadows composed by Thalassia testudinum and Halodule wrightii) and depth, there were substantial differences in faunal composition (ANOSIM test, R = 0.86) between both sponge species. The value of the data on species richness, diversity, and abundance of associated organisms was significantly higher in the individuals of A. atlantica than in those of H. implexiformis. These differences in the community structure of associated fauna could be influenced by the differential growth form of the hosts (e.g. growth form and oscula diameter) as well as their distinct environmental preferences (sites with different degrees of exposure to wind-generated waves and levels of human disturbance). This study contributes to the knowledge on the functional role that sponges play in seagrass meadows, one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems. Furthermore, it underlines the importance of examining both, the sponge morphology and the local environmental conditions, to explain spatial variations in the macrofaunal assemblages associated with sponges.

中文翻译：

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在墨西哥湾南部热带河口系统中，与两个常见的海草栖居s节（非洲魔芋和梭状藻）相关的大型动物群

在海绵在海洋生态系统中扮演的生态角色中，最重要的亮点之一是海绵具有多种多样和丰富的表皮生物的能力。然而，在不同的海洋环境中，在居住于海草的海绵中对此作用的研究较少。在这项研究中，主要目的是确定寄居海藻的两个常见同伴物种（中华绒螯蟹和单形嗜盐菌）中相关动物群的结构是否取决于宿主海绵的体积和形态以及它们的形态。两个海绵都暴露的环境。即使收集地点具有相同的栖息地类型（由地中海藻（Thalassia testudinum）和哈氏藻（Halodule wrightii）组成的海草草甸）和深度，动物区系组成也存在实质性差异（ANOSIM试验，R = 0）。86）在两个海绵种类之间。大西洋嗜血杆菌个体的物种丰富度，多样性和相关生物的丰度数据的价值显着高于腐烂嗜血杆菌的个体。相关动物群落结构的这些差异可能受到寄主的不同生长形式（例如，生长形式和小骨直径）以及其独特的环境偏好（暴露于风浪的程度和水平的地点）的影响。人为干扰）。这项研究有助于人们了解海绵在海草草甸上的功能作用，海草草甸是世界上最濒危的生态系统之一。此外，它强调了检查海绵形态和当地环境条件的重要性，