Chemical Ecology of Marine Sponge Communities

Marine sponges are among the most chemically prolific organisms in benthic ecosystems, synthesising a vast array of bioactive compounds that mediate their interactions with predators, competitors and microbial partners. These specialised metabolites serve multiple ecological roles: deterring predation through taste deterrents and toxins; inhibiting the settlement or overgrowth of rival sessile organisms via allelopathic interactions; and regulating symbiotic microbial communities that contribute to host nutrition, defence and chemical transformation. Variations in metabolite profiles may reflect environmental gradients, interspecific encounters and the physiological state of the sponge, resulting in dynamic chemical landscapes at reef and cave habitats alike. At community scale, sponge‐derived chemicals can shape benthic succession, influence habitat complexity by acting as ecosystem engineers and modulate disease transmission by suppressing pathogens. Understanding the drivers of chemical diversity in sponge assemblages is therefore fundamental to elucidating benthic food webs, enhancing reef resilience and inspiring novel applications in biotechnology and drug discovery.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have elucidated the mechanism by which encrusting sponges actively release potent alkaloid cues into the surrounding seawater. Targeted metabolomic analysis of a Mediterranean encrusting species revealed that polycyclic guanidine alkaloids are stored in specialised spherulous cells and are continuously exuded through oscula in both dissolved and particulate forms. This process, termed spherulization, establishes a chemical shield around the sponge that can disrupt the embryonic development of competing ascidians. Such findings demonstrate a direct link between intracellular storage mechanisms and ecological performance, advancing our understanding of how sponges deploy chemical defences to secure space and deter colonisation by epibionts.

Chemical Ecology of Marine Sponge Communities publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in chemical ecology of marine sponge communities across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Specialised metabolites: Low‐molecular‐weight compounds produced by organisms that have ecological rather than primary metabolic functions.
Spherulization: The process by which sponges package and release stored chemical defences in cell‐derived particles into the surrounding water.
Guanidine alkaloids: A class of nitrogenous bioactive compounds characterised by one or more guanidine groups, often with potent ecological effects.
Allelopathy: Inhibition of one organism’s growth or settlement by chemical compounds produced by another organism.

References

1. Spherulization as a process for the exudation of chemical cues by the encrusting sponge C. crambe. Scientific Reports (2016).
2. How Environmental Factors Affect the Production of Guanidine Alkaloids by the Mediterranean Sponge Crambe crambe. Marine Drugs (2017).
3. Sponge chemical defenses are a possible mechanism for increasing sponge abundance on reefs in Zanzibar. PLOS ONE (2018).