[Coral-List] Michael Risk - C. delitrix as measure of bioerosion

[Jon Rohde]

Michael Risk

I have long wondered about the role of boring sponges which seem, to my
unpracticed eye, to be ever more prevalent on Bahamian reefs - where I spend
half the year.  As you note, there seems to be little attention to them yet
they are relatively easily quantified by amateurs like me.  I have joined
Reef Check and conducted surveys with their few indicator species to
document some Bahamian reefs, but wondered about the rapidly increasing
algae and boring sponges which are neither counted nor mentioned in this
simple methodology, but seem to comprise large portions of our reefs
biomass. 

Could you give me some accessible references to C. delitrix and other boring
sponges?  Do you think that their inclusion in standardized reef surveys
would be a useful tool to document bioerosion?

Thanks for this interesting lead.

Jon Rohde, MD
3 Moray Place
Orangezicht, Cape Town, 8001
tel 27-(0)21-465-0569
Cell 27 (0)83-306-7701