Marine sponge microbiology
Marine sponges harbour a dense and diverse community of microorganisms, which contribute substantially to the biology of the host sponge. Our group has been studying the microbiology of sponges for well over a decade, and although our work in this area is being wound back, we do remain actively involved in several collaborations involving sponge microbiology. Our current collaborators in this area include Nicole Webster (Australian Institute of Marine Science), Ute Hentschel (GEOMAR - Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel), James Bell (Victoria University of Wellington) and Jose Montoya (French National Centre for Scientific Research). The current project with James and Nicole, which examines the implications of global climate change for marine sponge microbiology and ecology, is supported by a Marsden Fund grant from the Royal Society of New Zealand (PI: James Bell).
A selection of our publications on this topic: Taylor et al., 2007; Kamke et al., 2010; Hentschel et al., 2012; Webster & Taylor, 2012; Simister et al., 2012; Bell et al., 2013; Taylor et al., 2013; Astudillo-Garcia et al., 2017.
The NZ marine sponge Raspailia topsenti.