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TROPICAL SPONGE RESEARCH
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I participated in a field school in Bocas del Toro, Panama at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. As part of my self-directed study, I looked at the association of brittle stars (Ophiura sp.) with the fire sponge (Tedania ignis). This brightly coloured sponge is appropriately named for the painful sting it causes upon contact with bare skin.
For my research, I collected sponges and brittles stars from mangrove roots in different bays around Bocas del Toro. I conducted
choice-experiments in tanks at the Smithsonian aquarium and cultured sponge tissue from fragmented sponge pieces. I looked at the relationship between brittles stars and sponges and whether ophiuroids chose specific sponges to grow on. This is one of the few studies looking at brittle star and sponge associations in Panama.
Brittle star (Ophiura sp.) associations with the fire sponge (Tedania ignis).
The lab space at the Boca del Toro Smithsonian Tropical Research Station.
Some of the facilities at the research station. A student running in excitement to prepare for a dive to collect sponges!
Organizing our gear on the boat before jumping into the water to conduct mangrove transects of sponges.
Recording sponge diversity growing on the roots of mangrove trees.
Mangrove roots are home to a diversity of colourful sponges.
Studying the skeletal fragments of the sponge, called spicules, to identify the sponge species.
My setup for the brittle star and sponge choice experiment in laboratory tanks at the research station.
My experiment to culture sponge tissue from the fire sponge (Tedania ignis).
The last night at the research station contemplating about sponges and unwinding with a dip in the ocean!
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