Garcia-Nunes, Valentina M.

To conserve marine sponges, we must understand their reproductive output. Previous studies suggest not all individuals are active during every reproductive event. The purpose of this study is to quantify the population reproductive output of five brooding sponge species; Haliclona caerulea, Mycale angulosa, Niphates erecta, Spongia sp., and Tedania ignis, off the coast of Florida, USA. Larvae traps were deployed on individuals of Spongia sp. off Summerland Key during the full moon of July 2021, and on H. caerulea, M. angulosa, N. erecta, and T. ignis off the Fort Pierce City Marina during August and September 2021. We quantified the number of larvae during a given reproductive event and the percentage of the population sampled releasing larvae. Daily larvae release during a full-moon event is asynchronous across sponge populations. These results will help assess which species are most viable for larvae collection efforts to support a conservation centered sponge nursery.