Sponge Biodiversity of the United Kingdom A report from the Sponge Biodiversity of the United Kingdom project May 2008-May 2011 Claire Goodwin & Bernard Picton National Museums Northern Ireland Sponge Biodiversity of the United Kingdom Contents Page 1. Introduction 2 1.1 Project background 2 1.2 Project aims 2 1.3 Project outputs 2 2. Methods 3 2.1 Survey methodology 3 2.2 Survey locations 4 2.2.1 Firth of Lorn and Sound of Mull , Scotland 6 2.2.2 Pembrokeshire , Wales 6 2.2.3 Firth of Clyde , Scotland 6 2.2.4 Isles of Scilly , England 8 2.2.5 Sark, Channel Isles 8 2.2.6 Plymouth , England 8 2.3 Laboratory methodology 10 2.3.1 The identifi cation process 10 2.4 Data handling 11 3. Results 13 3.1 Notes on UK sponge communities 13 3.1.1 Scotland 13 3.1.2 Wales 13 3.1.3 Isles of Scilly 13 3.1.4 Sark 13 3.1.5 Sponge biogeography 15 3.2 Species of particular interest 15 4. Publications 34 4.1 Manuscripts in preparation 34 4.2 Published/accepted manuscripts 37 5. Publicity 37 5.1 Academic conference presentations 37 5.2 Public talks/events 38 5.3 Press coverage 38 6. Training Courses 39 7. Collaborations with other Organisations 42 8. Conclusions 44 8.1 Ulster Museum, National Museums Northern Ireland – a centre of excellence for sponge 44 taxonomy 8.2 Future work 44 8.2.1. Species requiring further work 45 9. Acknowledgements 46 10. References 47 Appendix 1. Sponge Biodiversity of the UK Workplan (May 2008 – May 2011) 50 Appendix 2. Survey dives 53 Appendix 3. Sponge taxa recorded during the survey 59 1 Sponge Biodiversity of the United Kingdom 1. Introduction 1.1 Project background The ‘Sponge Biodiversity of the United Kingdom’ Project is a National Museums Northern Ireland project, funded by National Museums, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Scottish Natural Heritage, and Countryside Council for Wales. The project aims to improve the knowledge of the UK sponge fauna. A recent project on the sponge biodiversity of Rathlin Island, a small island off the north coast of Northern Ireland, was conducted from 2005-2006 by the Ulster Museum (National Museums Northern Ireland), funded by the European Union’s Building Sustainable Prosperity programme. The fi ndings surpassed expectations: in total 128 different sponge species were recorded, including 29 species new to science, 3 others which had never been recorded from the UK before, and a further 9 species new to Northern Ireland. As well as contributing to knowledge of Rathlin Island (a Special Area of Conservation) and providing baseline data for future monitoring, the project greatly contributed to knowledge of the UK sponge biodiversity, adding to the species currently known and providing more information on many rare taxa. Over 3,000 photos were taken during the project and for many species this was the fi rst time they had been photographed in situ. These, together with descriptions of the new species and re-descriptions of some rare species, provide an important resource for other researchers and fi eld biologists. Sponge biodiversity is poorly recorded and it is expected that similar discoveries will be made elsewhere. There has been very little work done on the sponges of the British Isles since the 19th century. It is not possible to identify many species in the fi eld, they are perceived as diffi cult to identify by many biologists, and few people are trained in sponge taxonomy. Many species are thin crusts and can form quite small patches only a few centimetres in extent; consequently, they may be unidentifi able during general marine surveys. The methodology used for the Rathlin project (SCUBA diving) sampled species from circalittoral depths (20-50m), attached to bedrock and large boulders. Sponges from these habitats appear to have been under-recorded in the past; what little information we have about UK sponges comes mainly from dredged material. Dredging does not sample bedrock (on which many of the new Rathlin species occurred) and would have sampled predominantly deepwater habitats (over 50m). The Rathlin sampling methodology enabled the researchers to focus solely on sponges, collecting 849 specimens in total; the fi ndings of the project demonstrate the value of this approach. The Sponge UK project aimed to survey other areas which, from preliminary investigations, appeared to have similarly rich sponge populations. These included the Firth of Lorn SAC in Scotland and the north Pembrokeshire coast, south-west Wales. 1.2 Project aims To build on the fi ndings of the Rathlin project by surveying other areas of the UK. T o catalogue the sponge biodiversity of the British Isles and examine biogeographical differences within the British Isles. To taxonomically investigate and describe undescribed species. To promote the sponges and marine life of the British Isles, both to the general public and to the scientifi c community. To provide baseline data on the sponge communities, as a resource for future monitoring. To collect material for the sponge barcoding database. To provide taxonomic training and develop a good knowledge base for future work on sponges. To develop the Ulster Museum as a centre of excellence for sponge taxonomy and a resource for other researchers. To increase knowledge on the biodiversity of protected areas, aiding their management. 1.3 Project outputs Report on fi ndings of project, giving information on ecology and distribution of UK sponge species. Descriptions of rare and previously undescribed species. Species descriptions and samples for the sponge barcoding database. Website giving wide access to above information. Scientifi c publications. 2 Sponge Biodiversity of the United Kingdom Publications in the popular scientifi c press and news features, raising awareness of sponge and marine biodiversity in the UK. Database of in situ images of UK sponge species and SEM images of spicules of species. Training course educating other researchers and agency staff in sponge taxonomy A work plan giving detail of how these objectives were achieved and the timescale involved is given in Appendix 1. Claire Goodwin, employed by National Museums as a marine biologist, was responsible for the project and was funded to work on it for 50% of her time during the project’s duration. Bernard Picton, who is permanently employed as Curator of Marine Invertebrates at the Ulster Museum, worked on the project for 100 days per year. 2. Methods 2.1 Survey methodology Specimens were collected by SCUBA diving. Diving was carried out in accordance with Health and Safety Executive regulations for scientifi c diving. A diving risk assessment and project plan were written and these, together with the dive records, will be retained by National Museums for at least two years. Sponge abundance is typically highest in the lower circalittoral zone, below the algal zone. Dives in most areas were therefore at depths of between 30 and 40m so time was limited to about 20 minutes bottom time because of decompression constraints. However, in Wales, due to higher water turbidity and consequently shallower algal zone, sponges were found at considerably shallower depths than in other areas and longer no-stop dives were therefore possible. A maximum of 10 minutes of decompression was carried out on any one dive and all stops were conducted on an 80% nitrox mix on air tables to build in safety. Divers were always deployed in pairs. Sampling team members normally included Claire Goodwin and Bernard Picton (apart from the Isles of Scilly which only Claire Goodwin visited). A variety of other contractors and volunteers were involved: Steve Adams, Sarah Bowen, George Brown, Mark Burton, Sue Daly, Teresa Darbyshire, Angela Gall, Rob Gibson, David Goodwin, Keith Hiscock, Kate Lock, Jen Jones, David Kipling, Phil Newman, Emily Priestly, Sally Sharrock, and Mark Warren. Sponges were selected by eye: the divers attempted to sample species that looked different from those previously sampled. The aim was to sample as many different species as possible, rather than gaining any quantitative information. Once selected, three photographs of each specimen were taken in situ, using housed digital SLR cameras (Nikon D70, D200 and D300 in Ikelite and Subal housings, with Ikelite DS125 substrobe and SB800 fl ash unit, both with 60mm macro lenses). A small sample was then taken (typically 1cm2 of tissue, although more was removed where possible). Typically it was possible to collect between 7 and 10 specimens on a deep dive (~30m) but in Wales, where sponges occurred in shallower depths, over 20 specimens were collected on some dives. After collection, the samples were kept in seawater for a few hours before being transferred to 95% Ethanol for preservation and long term storage. Each specimen was given a unique reference number, consisting of the dive number and the sample number in the dive to ensure traceability. They were also allocated a museum specimen number and logged in a specimen book together with a brief external description and corresponding photograph numbers. In total, 2027 specimens were collected over the course of the project from Scotland, Wales, the Isles of Scilly, Plymouth and the Channel Isles (Table 1). Table 1 - Survey dives undertaken during the Sponge UK project. Survey Area Number of Dives Number of Samples Sark, Channel Islands 60 509 Firth of Clyde, Scotland 29 265 Firth of Lorn/Sound of Mull, Scotland 37 264 North Pembrokeshire, Wales 27 465 Skomer Marine Reserve, Wales 8 116 Isles of Scilly, England 50* 358 Plymouth, England 7 50 TOTAL 218 2027 * Some of these were dives by Seasearch volunteers, on which only a few specimens of sponges were collected. Only 20 dives were targeted solely at sponge collection.