Document Type
Article
Abstract
Nine expeditions were conducted in the Bahamas from 1987 to 1995 for the purpose of collecting marine organisms for biomedical research. Collections concentrated on sponges from various deep water habitats: the fore reef slope and escarpment (30-60 m), the deep fore reef slope and escarpment (60-150 m), and the deep shelf slope (15-922 m). A total of 417 sites were sampled throughout the archipelago using the Johnson-Sea-Link and Clelia Research Submersibles, ROV, and scuba. For each sample, a taxonomic voucher specimen was prepared, and each was documented with in situ and laboratory photographs and videotapes. Collection site and sample descriptions were transcribed into a database. A total of 3058 sponges were collected from all depth zones: 922-300 m, 19.2%; 300-60 m, 39.6%; and < 60 m, 41.2%. Nearly 300 species were enumerated, representing 20 orders, 61 families, and 137 genera. Distributional patterns of the taxa were analyzed with depth and latitude.
Publication Date
1997
Recommended Citation
This manuscript is an author version with the final publication available and may be cited as: Reed, J. K., & Pomponi, S. A. (1997). Biodiversity and distribution of deep and shallow water sponges in the Bahamas. In H.A. Lessios & I.G. Macintyre (Eds.), Proceedings of the Eighth International Coral Reef Symposium Vol. 2, (pp. 1387-1392). Balboa, Panama: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Comments
Florida Atlantic University. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute contribution 1143.