Ecology of shallow water sponge communities, their ecosystem functions, and their restoration

Many species of sponge are found on Caribbean coral reefs and back-reef, hard-bottom areas – our research focuses on the latter: shallow-water, hard-bottom sponge communities. Relatively little is known about the biology of these species, their ecological interactions, and their function in shallow, tropical ecosystems – topics that we have studied. Understanding sponge ecology is especially relevant because sponge communities have been decimated by repeated harmful algal blooms over large areas of the Florida Keys since 1990. We have characterized the potential implications of their loss on ecosystem function and pioneered techniques to restore sponge communities in affected areas.