Defenses of Caribbean sponges aganst predatory reef fish. II. Spicules, tissue toughness, and nutritional quality

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Abstract

Laboratory and field feeding experiments were conducted to assess the palatability to predatory reef fish of prepared foods containing natural concentrations of glass spicules from 8 species of Caribbean reef sponges. The presence of spicules did not alter food palatability relative to controls for any of the sponges tested. Analyses of ash content, tensile strength, protein, carbohydrate, and lipid content, and total energy content were conducted on tissue samples from 71 species. Sponges that lack chemical antipredatory defenses do not appear to compensate with structural or nutritional defenses, but may instead direct energy otherwise used for the production and storage of secondary metabolites to increased growth and reproduction. -from Authors

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Chanas, B., & Pawlik, J. R. (1995). Defenses of Caribbean sponges aganst predatory reef fish. II. Spicules, tissue toughness, and nutritional quality. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 127(1–3), 195–211. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps127195

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