Science Centres: Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity

Abyssocladia sp., a new species of carnivorous sponge found on the Brothers Seamount, Kermadec Arc. [Photo: Dr Shinji Tsuchida, JAMSTEC.]

New species of deep-sea carnivorous sponge have been identified as part of NIWA’s Seamounts Programme. Early indications are that New Zealand seamounts may harbour the greatest biodiversity of these species in the world.

Carnivorous sponges, first discovered in 1995, are unlike any other sponge. Small and feather- or dandelion-shaped, they often lack the usual sponge filtering system. Instead, they have a novel feeding system based on Velcro-like hooks to passively capture prey, which are then engulfed by digestive cells.

Visiting scientist Professor Jean Vacelet and NIWA’s Dr Michelle Kelly recently identified 17 species of carnivorous sponge collected principally near hydrothermal vents on submarine volcanoes northeast of the Bay of Plenty, and on the Chatham Rise . ‘These sponges are extremely rare, with only one species previously known from New Zealand’, says Dr Kelly.

The research, primarily funded by FRST, has identified several new sponge species unique to New Zealand and recovered eight of the known Pacific species, providing an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate the entire family for the Pacific region.