Paper discussion 1 - Feeding behavior and physiology of a carnivorous sponge

The cladorhizid sponge Asbestopluma hypogea capturing small crustaceans
(from Les Bulles du Recife)
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Today in class we held a discussion on the feeding behavior and physiology of the carnivorous sponge Asbestopluma hypogea. Our discussion was specifically based on the paper

Vacelet, J. and E. Duport. 2004. Prey capture and digestion in the carnivorous sponge Asbestopluma hypogea (Porifera: Demospongiae). Zoomorphology, 123:179–190.

The discussion was largely based on aspects that the students found interesting, which for the most part were:

• Passive mechanism of hunting
• Cell changes to engulf prey
• Mode of digestion (partially extracellular)
• Speed of digestion (2-8 days depending on size of prey)
• Features in prey and sponge that allow the sponge to capture its meal
• Overall morphological changes during the digestion process

Students seemed to show a special interest for the video associated to the paper and the various SEM micrographs published by the authors.

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