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Eunapius Fragilis (Porifera:Spongillidae) - a Report of Fresh-Water Sponges in Lake Huron
J. Great Lakes Res., March 1978 Internat. Assoc. Great Lakes Res. 4(1):103
NOTE EUNAPIUS FRAGILIS (PORIFERA:SPONGILLIDAE)A REPORT OF FRESH-WATER SPONGES IN LAKE HURON
Joseph Lukasiewicz 1 Hammond Bay Biological Station Millersburg, Michigan 49759
Reports on the occurrence of fresh-water sponges in the St. Lawrence Great Lakes system are few. Apparently, the earliest record of these animals is that of Reighard (1894), who found an unidentified species of Ephydatia Lamouroux in Lake St. Clair in 1893. Later, Landacre (1901) reported Spongilla [ragilis 2 (Leidy) and Radiospongilla cinerea (Carter) in Lake Erie. An unidentified species of Spongilla Lamarck was also found in Lake Erie during studies by Krecker and Lancaster (1933). In 1974, J. K. Hiltunen (personal communication) collected E. [ragilis and Spongilla lacustris (Linnaeus) off tips of quillwort (Isoetes macrospora) in the St. Marys River, Chippewa County, Michigan. Elsewhere in the Great Lakes system, sponges have remained unreported. Between August and December, 1976, I collected E. [ragilis from the shallow, littoral waters of Lake Huron as part of a sponge-fauna survey of the Hammond Bay, Michigan, vicinity. The bay is on Lake Huron about 70 km southeast of the Straits of Mackinac (Figure 1). The margin of Hammond Bay is sandy except for the rock-cobble southeast corner. In the latter area, sponges were found growing in 0.33-0.67 m of water on the underside of variously-sized sedimentary and metamorphic stones. The colonies were generally confined to areas sheltered from waves generated by prevailing winds. E. [ragilis is recognized as a cosmopolitan species. It spans all continents and many climates (Penney and Racek 1968). Among other sponges, Old (1931) documented the species from several inland waters of Michigan. However, in the Hammond Bay area (Ocqueoc River), S. lacustris was the only sponge reported. It is likely that E. [ragilis lives in
HAMMOND BAY
Scale in Kilometers
1
1
.... 2~3_---J
Ocqueoc River
FIG. J. Location map of Hammond Bay and collection site (study area).
the other Great Lakes as well, but as it has a relatively insignificant biological status and its distribution is evidently localized, the species has been overlooked as a component of the Great Lakes macro benthos. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank Jarl K. Hiltunen of the Great Lakes Fishery Laboratory, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for his helpful suggestions in the preparation of this manuscript. Also, I thank other personnel of the Great Lakes Fishery Laboratory and its Hammond Bay Biological Station for the use of their facilities. REFERENCES Krecker, F. H. and Lancaster, L. H. 1933. Bottom shore fauna of western Lake Erie: A population study to a depth of six feet. Ecology 14(2):79-93. Landacre, F. L. 1901. Sponges and bryozoans of Sandusky Bay. Ohio Nat. 1:96-97. Old, M. C. 1931. Taxonomy and distribution of the freshwater sponges (Spongillidae) of Michigan. Michigan Acad. Sci. Arts Lett. 15 :439-476. Penney, J. T. and Racek, A. A. 1968. Comprehensive revision of a worldwide collection of freshwater sponges (porifera: Spongillidae). U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 272: 1-184. Reighard, J. E. 1894. A biological examination of Lake St. Clair. Bull. Mich. Fish. Comm., No.4, p. 1-41.
Ipresent Address: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, 2300 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. 2
0
Penney and Racek (1968) relegate S. fragilis into synonomy under E. fragilis.
103
NOTE EUNAPIUS FRAGILIS (PORIFERA:SPONGILLIDAE)A REPORT OF FRESH-WATER SPONGES IN LAKE HURON
Joseph Lukasiewicz 1 Hammond Bay Biological Station Millersburg, Michigan 49759
Reports on the occurrence of fresh-water sponges in the St. Lawrence Great Lakes system are few. Apparently, the earliest record of these animals is that of Reighard (1894), who found an unidentified species of Ephydatia Lamouroux in Lake St. Clair in 1893. Later, Landacre (1901) reported Spongilla [ragilis 2 (Leidy) and Radiospongilla cinerea (Carter) in Lake Erie. An unidentified species of Spongilla Lamarck was also found in Lake Erie during studies by Krecker and Lancaster (1933). In 1974, J. K. Hiltunen (personal communication) collected E. [ragilis and Spongilla lacustris (Linnaeus) off tips of quillwort (Isoetes macrospora) in the St. Marys River, Chippewa County, Michigan. Elsewhere in the Great Lakes system, sponges have remained unreported. Between August and December, 1976, I collected E. [ragilis from the shallow, littoral waters of Lake Huron as part of a sponge-fauna survey of the Hammond Bay, Michigan, vicinity. The bay is on Lake Huron about 70 km southeast of the Straits of Mackinac (Figure 1). The margin of Hammond Bay is sandy except for the rock-cobble southeast corner. In the latter area, sponges were found growing in 0.33-0.67 m of water on the underside of variously-sized sedimentary and metamorphic stones. The colonies were generally confined to areas sheltered from waves generated by prevailing winds. E. [ragilis is recognized as a cosmopolitan species. It spans all continents and many climates (Penney and Racek 1968). Among other sponges, Old (1931) documented the species from several inland waters of Michigan. However, in the Hammond Bay area (Ocqueoc River), S. lacustris was the only sponge reported. It is likely that E. [ragilis lives in
HAMMOND BAY
Scale in Kilometers
1
1
.... 2~3_---J
Ocqueoc River
FIG. J. Location map of Hammond Bay and collection site (study area).
the other Great Lakes as well, but as it has a relatively insignificant biological status and its distribution is evidently localized, the species has been overlooked as a component of the Great Lakes macro benthos. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank Jarl K. Hiltunen of the Great Lakes Fishery Laboratory, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for his helpful suggestions in the preparation of this manuscript. Also, I thank other personnel of the Great Lakes Fishery Laboratory and its Hammond Bay Biological Station for the use of their facilities. REFERENCES Krecker, F. H. and Lancaster, L. H. 1933. Bottom shore fauna of western Lake Erie: A population study to a depth of six feet. Ecology 14(2):79-93. Landacre, F. L. 1901. Sponges and bryozoans of Sandusky Bay. Ohio Nat. 1:96-97. Old, M. C. 1931. Taxonomy and distribution of the freshwater sponges (Spongillidae) of Michigan. Michigan Acad. Sci. Arts Lett. 15 :439-476. Penney, J. T. and Racek, A. A. 1968. Comprehensive revision of a worldwide collection of freshwater sponges (porifera: Spongillidae). U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 272: 1-184. Reighard, J. E. 1894. A biological examination of Lake St. Clair. Bull. Mich. Fish. Comm., No.4, p. 1-41.
Ipresent Address: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, 2300 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. 2
0
Penney and Racek (1968) relegate S. fragilis into synonomy under E. fragilis.
103