SEARCH FOR INVERTEBRATES YIELDS TEN NEW SPONGE SPECIES FOUND IN SINGLE SINK HOLE AT PEARL AND HERMES ATOLL


One of 10 new sponges
found off Pearl and Hermes Atoll

Yesterday, October 9, 2000 ten new species of marine sponges were found in a single location at Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. These sponges, ranging in color from pink and purple to black and red, had never been seen before by human eyes. The sponges were found by Ralph DeFelice, an invertebrate zoologist who specializes in this little understood class of animals (porifera).

The sponges were found in 60 feet of water in a deep sink hole at the southeastern end of the atoll, located between deep ridges of coral reef. The water in the sink hole was very calm, away from the wave action of the barrier reef edge.


One of Ralph De Felice's
new sponge discoveries

Heavy wave action typically hinders the growth of sponges, except for encrusting varieties which grow close to rocks, coral and other substrate material and can stand up to the pounding action of waves. Because of this, most species of sponges found in Hawaii are encrusted species. However, several of the new sponges found yesterday were branch-like, tube shaped or otherwise three-dimensional, making their discovery even more significant.

"It's hard to get people excited about sponges," said De Felice. "People like to look at big, charismatic animals like fish, turtles and marine mammals. Although the sponges that were found are charismatic and colorful as far as sponges go, it's tough for people to understand their importance in an ecosystem."


Microscopic Sponge

Typically unnoticed and under appreciated, sponges are the oldest multicellular animals on the planet. They serve as living filters in the ocean, drawing in water through its multiple inhalant pores (ostis) and then releasing filtered water back to the ocean through its exhalant pores (oscules). One scientist described sponges as 'the most efficient vacuum cleaners of the sea' because they can pump more than 10 times their body volume each hour.

According to scientific estimates there are 15,000 species of sponges in the world, of which an estimated 200-300 are found in Hawaii. Of these, scientists believe that more than half are found only in Hawaii. Sponges play important roles in many marine habitats, but we still know very little about them, their biology and ecology as compared with other animal groups. De Felice hopes this Northwestern expedition will aid in this understanding.


Another Microscopic Sponge

What is known is that sponges form close relationships with other marine organisms like algae, shrimp and brittle stars. Working together, these animals rely on each other for protection and food and these relationships help keep the rest of the food chain functioning properly. In some parts of the ocean floor, sponges are the dominant species found to exist, serving to filter toxins out of the ocean environment.

Sponges also have pharmaceutical value. Because sponges feed on the toxic chemicals excreted by other marine plants and animals and keep these chemicals in their systems to help protect them from predators, many sponges contain chemicals used in medicine. Some of these chemicals have already proved to be potent toxins against human pathogens like cancer and human respiratory, inflammatory, and cardiovascular ailments. Two of the most celebrated examples of chemical properties found in sponges are a the anti-malaria compounds found in one species from the Great Barrier Reef and an anti-AIDS molecule found in a Mediterranean species.

Although De Felice isn't collecting enough material on this expedition to test for these medicinal properties, these new finds are the first step in learning more about these sea creatures. If enough of these new species are found to exist, it may be possible in the future to study them for possible medicinal use in the future.


Still to be named, this newly
discovered sponge was found
off Pearl and Hermes Atoll

Sponge collecting isn't for everyone. Because of the number of varieties and microscopic skeletons composed of fibrous proteins and spicules of silica, sponges are difficult to study and difficult to identify. Their sharp spicules and the chemicals they carry can also irritate human skin.

But De Felice is undeterred. "I do what I do because I love the thrill of discovery. It's really exciting when I find something new and realize that I'm the only one in the world who knows this animal even exists."


Pearl and Hermes sponge
never before seen by human eyes

For many scientists, finding a new species unknown to science before is the ultimate achievement when out in the field. For DeFelice, the ten new species of sponges he found means months and months of detailed work ahead. Added to the dozens of other species DeFelice believes may have recorded for the first time in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands during this expedition, these new finds have made his post-expedition laboratory work very time intensive.

De Felice and his fellow invertebrate scientists on the expedition will spend up to one year or more studying, identifying, describing and naming the species they collected on this trip. Because sponges are so variable in shape and color, microscopic examination of the tiny structures is necessary in order to correctly identify them (see photos of sponges as they look under a microscope).

PHOTOS: snapshots of new, unnamed sponges found; photos of various sponges as they appear under a microscope.

 

What sponges look like under a microscope

Still Another Microscopic Sponge

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