Group 1

Activity – Sponges

Marine water- Samal City

I. Introduction
II. Objectives
1. identify the sponges found in the area

III. Materials and Methods

The activity was conducted at Talicud, Samal Davao del Norte started at 9am and was
done by almost 2pm of April 12, 2019. The materials have been used for the activity
were secchi disc which is used to measure water transparency or turbidity in bodies of
water and also it is used to measure the depth of the water, refractometer to measure the
salinity of the water, transect line used as a guide to measure the distribution of organisms, and
a underwater camera for the documentation. See Table 1.

IV. Results and Discussion

Table. 1

Secchi disc (turbidity) Clear water

Depth of the water 8 meters
Refractomer (salinity) 1.025
32%
Thermometer (temperature) 29°C

The abiotic factors of the water were then observed and recorded and the photos of the
organism were used for the identification.

Abiotic factors

Turbidity

Salinity
Temperature

Another major concern regarding climate change and coral reefs is the increasing
levels of CO2 in oceans that cause ocean acidification. This process impacts the ability of
corals to make calcium carbonate (Pandolfi et al. 2011). Numerous studies have been
conducted to investigate the impact of increasing CO2 levels on corals, and they all arrive
at the conclusion that high CO2 levels make it difficult for marine organisms to create
their calcium carbonate shells. For example, a study in the Red Sea reef showed that,
globally, when CO2 concentrations are at 560 ppm, corals will dissolve instead of
accumulate calcium carbonate, resulting in massive die-offs (Pandolfi et al. 2011). In
another study, the experiment exposed calcifying algae to four different temperatures and
four different CO2 levels; the greater amounts of CO2 caused significant decline in
photosynthetic efficiency, ability to accumulate calcium carbonate, and growth in all
species (Sinutok 2011). The results also showed that after five weeks, in the 34 °C trial
under all CO2 levels, all species died (Sinutok 2011). Therefore, increased oceanic CO2
levels have detrimental effects on coral reefs. Furthermore, linking increasing CO2 levels
with climate change and global warming shows the cause of the processes that are
affecting the health of coral reef ecosystems. As long as greenhouse gases continue to be
emitted in large amounts, CO2 concentrations will increase in oceans and corals will
continue to live in a chemically unhealthy ecosystem. If CO2 emissions continue at the
rate they are emitted now, there will most certainly be reductions in the extent and
diversity of coral reefs in the future.

Sponges reproduce both asexually and sexually. Asexual reproduction takes a variety of
forms such as, fragmentation, budding, formation of direct developing gemmules,
formation of pseudolarvae and serves both as a dispersal mechanism and a method of
survival during periods of extremely unfavorable conditions (Fell, 1974).

Raw pictures of the sponges underwater

References

Fell, P. E. (1974). Porifera. In: Reproduction of Marine Invertebrates, A. C. Giese and J. S. Pearse
(eds.). Academic Press, New York

Pandolfi J, Connolly S, Marshall D, Cohen A (2011) Projecting Coral Reef Futures Under
Global Warming and Ocean Acidification. Science 333 (6041): 418-422

Sinutok S, Hill R, Doblin M, Wuhrer R, Ralph P (2011) Warmer more acidic conditions cause
decreased productivity and calcification in subtropical coral reef sediment-dwelling calcifiers.
Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography 56(4): 1200-1212

Wilkinson C (1999) Global and local threats to coral reef functioning and existence: review and
predictions. Marine and Freshwater Research 50(8): 867-878