ABSTRACT
Tropical coral reef ecosystems are changing rapidly to an alternative state in which sponges are the dominant living habitat, with giant barrel sponges (GBSs, Xestospongia spp.) representing the largest biomass. Unlike other benthic reef organisms, GBSs are ecosystem engineers that pump large volumes of seawater, disrupting the benthic boundary layer and directing flow away from the reef surface and into the water column. The morphology and size of GBSs have made them particularly good experimental subjects to study the hydraulics of sponge pumping and the transformation that occurs as seawater is processed by the sponge holobiont (sponge cells and microbial symbionts). This Review is part of a series marking the 100th birthday of The Company of Biologists, which was founded by marine biologist George Parker Bidder III, who primarily worked on sponges. The Review provides an integrative assessment of research on GBSs with comparisons with what is known about other marine sponges. Recent discoveries suggest that ancient lineages of morphologically indistinguishable GBSs are responding to environmental changes over sub-decadal time periods to rapidly populate reefs stripped of coral cover by climate change. If GBSs remain robust to rising seawater temperatures, they will become the greatest source of habitat complexity on reefs of the future, so knowledge of their biology and physiology will be important to our understanding of these ecosystems.
Footnotes
Funding
The author's research projects cited in this review were funded by past awards from the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Company of Biologists: celebrating 100 years
This article is part of ‘The Company of Biologists: celebrating 100 years’ anniversary collection. To view the full collection of articles, please visit: https:// journals.biologists.com/journals/pages/celebrating_100_years, and for details of more of our activities happening during 2025, please go to: https://www.biologists. com/100-years/.
