Relative importance of bacteria, microalgae and yeast for growth of the sponge Halichondria melanadocia (De Laubenfels, 1936): A laboratory study

Bacteria, microalgae and yeast less than 10 Am in size are the primary food source of sponges but their relative contribution to somatic growth is poorly understood. In a laboratory study, the sponge Halichondria melanadocia was fed for 6 weeks a diet consisting solely of four bacterial strains, or a mixed diet consisting of bacteria, microalgae and yeast. Both diets were fed at three concentrations, based on the natural concentration (NC) of particles available to sponges: 1/5, 1 and 5NC.

This is the author’s version of a work accepted for publication by Elsevier. Changes resulting from the publishing process, including peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting and other quality control mechanisms, may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. The definitive version has been published at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jembe and may be cited as Duckworth, Alan and Shirley A. Pomponi (2005) Relative importance of bacteria, microalgae and yeast for growth of the sponge Halichondria melanadocia (De Laubenfels, 1936): A laboratory study, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 323: 151–159 doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2005.03.007

Florida Atlantic University. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute contribution #1582.