[Coral-List] Sponge survey

[Lisanne van Hoek University of Amsterdam]

Dear colleagues,

I hope my email finds you well. My name is Lisanne and I am studying coral
reef sponges as part of my internship for the MSc Freshwater and Marine
Biology at the University of Amsterdam.

In the end of 2020, after a period of high seawater temperatures, a
widespread die-off of the black ball sponge Ircinia strobilina was observed
on the reefs of Curaçao in the southern Caribbean. A large proportion of
the sponges developed spots of dead tissue. This led to fast deterioration
and death in many sponges. We have now started to look into what might have
caused this die-off. We have also started to track the health of the
sponges on the population level, before and after this die-off, using a
timeseries of photos.

We are now eager to investigate the occurrence of this sponge die-off
beyond Curaçao, to determine its geographical range. Therefore, we have
developed a 5 minute questionnaire through google forms. It would be
extremely beneficial to us if you would be able to fill this out! Please
forward this questionnaire to other institutions or dive shops that might
have more information.

https://forms.gle/NaXUp4PsUCTqJn5f8

Thank you for your time and help!

Kind regards,
Lisanne van Hoek
MSc student Freshwater and Marine Biology
University of Amsterdam