A Who's Who in Studies on Porifera

The following is a list of some of the people working on sponges, with their present Addresses, and a short description of their current research interests:

Belinda Alvarez de Glasby

National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA) PO Box. 14-901, Kilbirnie, Wellington, New Zealand
Email: B.Glasby@niwa.cri.nz
Fax: 64-4-3862153

Description of work:
Currently as a postdoctoral fellow in the Marine Taxonomy Program of NIWA.

Current projects and interests:

• Taxonomic revision of the New Zealand and South Pacific sponges of Halichondrida sensu Van Soest, Díaz & Pomponi.
• Sequencing of DNA ribosomal genes to analyse phylogenetic relationships of Halichondrida and related groups.
• Analysis of the phylogeny of Halichondrida and its position in the higher classification using morphological and molecular data.

Bill Austin

Khoyatan Marine Laboratory, RR1, Cowichan Bay, B.C. Canada VOR 1N0 & Marine Ecology Station, RR1, Cowichan Bay, B.C. Canada VOR 1N0
phone: 250-748-4522
fax: 250-748-4410
Email: baustin@island.net
Web site

Current projects and interests:

• Systematics of NE Pacific Sponges with emphasis in British Columbia
• Ecology of shallow water hexactinellid sponges in British Columbia
• Photodocumentation of sponge species to supplement keys to porifera by Austin & Ott in Eugene Kozloff's Marine Invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest (1987). We have put up a sample on our web site Further work is dependent on funding and time.
• Update of my 1985 Annotated checklist of Marine Invertebrates in the Cold Temperate NE Pacific. I am hoping this might be taken on through NAMIT: Northwest Association of Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists. A sample sponge page is on our web site

Chris N. Battershill

New Zealand Oceanographic Institute, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 14-901, Kilbirnie, Wellington, New Zealand
Fax: (64 4) 386 2153
Email: chrisb@greta.niwa.cri.nz

Current projects and interests:

• Community ecology: - examining the effects of terrestrial sediment runoff on sponge characterised communities in temperate New Zealand and Antarctica. Focus on sponge reproduction and recruitment phenomenon, also benthos/pelagic coupling.
• Chemical ecology: - examining the chemical ecology of five species of sponges that produce anti-viral/anti-tumour active compounds. Investigations into sponge aquaculture and cell culture for bioactive metabolite bulk production.
• Taxonomy: - Review of Chatham Rise (NZ) sponge fauna (all groups although help sought on Hexacts). Species are deep water temperate/sub-Antarctic.

Patricia R. Bergquist

Address: Zoology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: (64) 373-7599 x 7792 (office); 373-7599 x 7295 (secretary)
Email: pr.bergquist@auckland.ac.nz

Current projects and interests:

Link to Pat's home page at Auckland
• Taxonomy of the Dictyoceratida, Dendroceratida, and Verongida, revision of generic and familial classification following description of a number of new genera particularly from the southern hemisphere but including Micronesia. Methods include RNA sequence analysis, chemotaxonomy as well as morphology.
• Preparation of Part 5 of the Sponges of New Zealand Dendroceratida, and with Steve Cook (Ph.D. student) Part 6 Dictyoceratida.
• Sponge fauna of the Chatham rise; taxonomy and ecology (with Chris Battershill and Mike Page).
• Molecular taxonomy of the Haplosclerida.
• Development of specific molecular probes for field detection of toxic microalgae in the first instance but the techniques will be transposable to other groups (with P.L. Bergquist and D. Saul, D. Walsh (Research Officers), J. Tyrell and A Haywood (Ph.D. students)).
• Revision of Dysidea with description of new tropical species and a redescription of established species.

Michael A. Borowitzka

School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Murdoch University, Perth, WA 6150, Australia
Phone: 61 9 360 2333
Fax: 61 9 310 3505
Email: borowitz@possum.murdoch.edu.au

Current projects and interests:

• Has been working with sponges for about 12 years now. Mainly on secondary metabolites and on algal/sponge symbioses. The main organism to keep him occupied has been Dysidea herbacea, and his group is now focusing mainly on Ceratodictyon spongiosum. His interests are how sponge/algal symbioses work, and their role in the overall energetic balance for the organisms. He is also interested in the role of sponges in marine, especially tropical, ecosystems. He points out that he is primarily a phycologist who has stumbled onto sponges, rather than the other way around, but has 1 Phd and 1 honours student working on sponges.

Nicole Boury-Esnault

Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, Station marine d'Endoume, Université de la Méditerranée, UMR-CNRS 6540, rue de la Batterie des Lions, 13007-Marseille, France
tel : 33 491 04 16 29
fax : 33 491 04 16 35
Email : esnault@com.univ-mrs.fr

Topics of interest:

• Biodiversity and phyletic relationships of the Porifera.
• Morphological, molecular and biochemical systematics:
  • Demosponges with asterose spicules (28S rDNA)
  • relationships between the orders and classes of Porifera using conservative genes
• Sponge development especially of Hexactinellida and carnivorous sponges
• Special interest in the so-called cosmopolitan species; comparison between Mediterranean and South-Atlantic populations (Clathrina, Chondrosia, Chondrilla) and those from both sides of the Isthmus of Panama
• Revision for Systema Porifera of the genera of the family Polymastiidae, Chondrosida.
• Special interest in cytology for use as a taxonomic character

Allen Collins

Museum of Paleontology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Phone: (510) 642-1607
Email: allenc@ucmp1.berkeley.edu

Current projects and interests:

• My research does/will focus on the early evolution of poriferans, particularly as it relates to the early evolution of metazoans. I am especially interested in enigmatic sponge groups such as archaeocyanths and hexactinellids.

Ruth Faundez

Dept. des Invertebres, Museum d'Histoire naturelle de Geneve
Case postale 643, 1211 Geneve 6, Suisse
Phone: 41.22.418.63.24
Fax: 42.22.418.63.01
Email: (work) ruth.faundez@mhn.ville-ge.ch
(home) faundea1@uni2a.unige.ch

Current projects and interests:

• South Pacific coast (Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Galapagos), biogeography and taxonomy of Demospongiae fauna.
• Haplosclerida, Petrosida taxonomy.
• Spongillids from Switzerland

Dr. J. Fromont

Curator of Marine Invertebrates
Work Address: Western Australian Museum, Francis Street, Perth, WA 6000, Australia
Phone: 61 8 94272745
Fax: 61 8 93288686
Email: work: fromont@museum.wa.gov.au

Current research:

• Western Australian sponges - species present on this coastline, estimates of biodiversity, biogeography, reproduction.

Maria Cristina Diaz

Biology department, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Phone: 408-459-3128
Fax:408-459-4882
Email: Diaz@cats.ucsc.edu

Current projects and interests:

• General sponge systematics, ecology and evolution, looking at morphological, biogeographical and molecular (DNA) information.
• Currently trying to reveal metabolic and historical identity and diversity of bacteria associated to marine tropical sponges, and discerning evolutionary and ecological consequences among sponge groups.
• Most taxonomic experience with Caribbean and Southpacific fauna.

Thomas M. Frost

Trout Lake Station, Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, 10810 County N, Boulder Junction, WI 54512, USA.
Email: tfrost@facstaff.wisc.edu

Current projects and interests:

• Basic ecology of freshwater sponges and sponges in general. (e.g., Frost, T.M. 1991. Porifera. Pages 95-124 in J. H. Thorp and A. P. Covich, editors. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. Academic Press, New York, New York, USA. - currently being updated - any suggestions are welcome)
• Aspects of sponge-algal symbioses. (e.g., Frost, T.M., L.E. Graham, J.E. Elias, M. J. Haase, D.W. Kretchmer, and J.A. Kranzfelder. 1997. A yellow-green algal symbiont in the freshwater sponge Corvomeyenia everetti: convergent evolution of symbiotic associations. Freshwater Biology 38: 395-399.)
• Sponge adaptations and responses to different habitat silica availabilities. (e.g., Kratz, T.K., T.M. Frost, J.E. Elias, and R.B. Cook. 1991. Reconstruction of a regional, 12,000-year silica decline in lakes using fossil sponge spicules. Limnology and Oceanography 36: 1244-1249.)
• A reexamination of Jewell's 1930's survey of Wisconsin sponges. A reexamination of Jewell's 1930's survey of Wisconsin sponges.

Brian Ginn

Dept. of Behavioural and Life Sciences, University College of Cape Breton, P.O. Box 5300, Sydney, N.S., Canada, B1P 6L2
Phone: (902)563-1362
Fax: (902)562-0119
Email: bginn@uccb.ns.ca

Current projects and interests:

• My current research interests are focused on the description of the sponges located in a high current velocity area in the southwestern Bay of Fundy, Canada. I am also studying the changes in sponge species diversity and morphology with respect to depth and current velocity. An investigation of changes in sponge feeding rate with respect to current velocity is also being carried out.

Eduardo Hajdu

Museu Nacional, Depto. de Invertebrados Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Quinta da Boa Vista, s/n 20940-040, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BRAZIL
Phone/Fax: +55 21 5676265/5676316/5681149/5681290/5681314/5681319/5681352/5688262
Email: hajdu@acd.ufrj.br

Current projects and interests:

• Phylogeny of the Poecilosclerida; taxonomy of Brazilian sponges; biogeography of the seas.
• Phylogeny of Mycale and allied (which?!- Esperiopsis, Hamacantha, ...) genera
• Bioactivity of Brazilian sponges (all types of bioactivity!)
• Sponge faunistics of the Sao Sebastiao area in SE Brazil (SW Atlantic)
• Revision of the suborder Mycalina for the Systema Porifera
• Fossil Mycale
• Biogeographic affinities of the Brazilian marine biota.

Rosalind Hinde

School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Email: rhinde@bio.usyd.edu.au

Research interests:

• The physiology and biochemistry of associations between sponges and their photosynthetic symbionts. With Michael Borowitzka, I worked first with Dysidea herbacea and its symbiotic cyanobacterium, Oscillatoria spongeliae and later on the physiological ecology of the sponges with symbiotic algae on coral reef lagoon floors. This led to an interest in symbioses between sponges and Chlorophyta and Rhodophyta. We are now studying the nutritional and morphogenetic interactions between Haliclona cymiformis and the red alga Ceratodictyon spongiosum.

John N. A. Hooper

Position: Senior Curator, Sessile Marine Invertebrates
Queensland Museum, P.O. Box 3300, South Brisbane, Qld. 4101, Australia
Phone: +61-7-3840-7722
Fax: +61-7-3846-1226,
Email: JohnH@qm.qld.gov.au

Areas of expertise:

• Biodiversity and Biogeography of marine sponges (Porifera).
• Taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, phylogenetics of Demospongiae orders Poecilosclerida, Axinellida, Halichondrida.
• Also interested in chemotaxonomy, marine ecology and conservation, marine and coastal management, community and population biology of benthic invertebrates.

Current projects and interests:

• Description of Microcionidae from the Indo-Malay region and Micronesia.
• Description of new species of Raspailiidae from many oceans and islands.
• Primary taxonomic descriptions of tropical Australasian Halichondriidae, chemotaxonomy and molecular biology of halichondriids/axinellids/desmoxyids - where do all the genera fit ?
• Principal Consultant for marine zoology collections and taxonomy with the Queensland Pharmaceutical Research Institute (Brisbane), funded by Astra Pharmaceuticals.
• Consultant Taxonomist to ORSTOM Centre de Noumea (New Caledonia), and the Coral Reef Research Foundation (Palau), discovering and describing the megadiverse macrobenthic sponge fauna from the Indo-west Pacific.
• Writing and illustrating a book on macro marine invertebrates of Vanuatu, in collaboration with Georges Bargibant, Jean-Luis Menou and Cecile Debitus of ORSTOM Centre de Noumea.

Clifford Jones

School of Biological Science, University College of North Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW Wales, United Kingdom.
Email: bss096@bangor.ac.uk

Current projects and interests:

• Currently I am extending and reviewing my collections of North Wales marine and freshwater sponges, using my home as a research base following retirement in 1990.

Jaap Kaandorp

Parallel Scientific Computing and Simulation Group, Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics & Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 403, 1098 SJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Phone: +31 20 5257539 / +31 20 5257463
fax: +31 20 5257490
email: jaapk@wins.uva.nl
Web site

Research interests: morphogenesis, marine sessile organisms (in particular stromatolites, Porifera, and Cnidaria), evolutionary processes, self-organisation in complex systems.

Current projects:

• Modelling and simulation of growth and form of individual organisms. As a case study I have used for example the sponge Haliclona oculata and the stony coral Pocillopora damicornis. In these models it is aimed to incorporate the influence of the external physical environment (impact of hydrodynamics, availability of light for the photosynthesis, etc.) on the growth process and the internal genetic regulation of the morphogenesis. Applications: research on morphogenesis, phylogenetic studies, ecological studies (analysis of growth forms for bio-monitoring purposes), interpretation of fossil material, individual-based population dynamics.
• ``The discreteness-continuity dichotomy in individual-based population dynamics using massively parallel machines" project, which is funded by the Dutch foundation for basic research. In this project, in cooperation with theoretical population biologists, mathematicians, and computer scientists individual-based models of populations are being developed. A case study within this project will be a simulated reef ecosystem using the models of individual organisms mentioned above.
• ``Interactively guided exploration techniques for the SARA CAVE'' project. Within this project haptic and visual exploration techniques are being developed for the CAVE facility (the virtual reality theatre) installed at SARA (Academic Computing Services Amsterdam). A case study in this project is to apply these technigues for the analysis of results of the simulation models mentioned above (see example) and for a comparison of simulated growth forms to 3D images of actual organisms.

Michelle Kelly-Borges

Marine Ecology and Aquaculture, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Private Bag 109-695 Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand

Email: m.kelly@niwa.cri.nz
Phone +649-375-2090
Fax +649-375-2051

Research interests and collaborative programmes:
Ongoing research projects:

• Biodiversity Inventory and documentation:
  1. New Zealand lithistid sponges (with NIWA and MONZ - Lottery Science Project)
  2. Lithistids of the central Atlantic (BBSRC project)
  3. Field guide to the sponges of the West Central Pacific (with Dr John Hooper, QMus)
• Morphological, Molecular and Chemotaxonomic Systematics:
  1. Systematics of the New Zealand Lithistida (with NIWA and MONZ - Lottery Science Project)
  2. Morphological and chemotaxonomy of common lithistid genera Discodermia, Corallistes, and Theonella from the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific (BBSRC project)
  3. Systematics of Latrunculia and related genera and chemotaxonomic markers for the Latrunculiidae (PhD Fellowship, Royal Society; Dr M. Davies-Coleman, Rhodes University, South Africa, and Dr. Ralph Mattern, UCSC, USA)
  4. Molecular systematics of lithistid sponges (BBSRC project, NHM)
  5. Molecular phylogeny of the Porifera (PhD fellowship, NHM)
• Sponge ecology and reproduction:
  1. Selection of new species, optomisation of growth rates and morphology in farmed bathsponges in Pohnpei, Micronesia (College of Micronesia, CTSA) and (Ministry of Fisheries)
• Marine Environment:
  1. Uptake and deposition of heavy metals in sponges in polluted NZ waters (AIT, Auckland)
  2. Expression of metallurgin genes in sponges inhabiting polluted NZ waters (AIT, Auckland)

Clea Lerner

Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociencias, Universidade de Sao Paulo & Museu de Ciencias Naturais, Fundacao Zoobotanica do Rio Grande do Sul. Cx Postal 1188, 90610-000, Porto Alegre, RS, BRAZIL
Phone: +55 5l 336 1511 - ramal 147
Fax: +55 51 336 l778
E-mail: cblerner@portoweb.com.br

Currently I am working on a PhD Thesis at Universidade de Sao Paulo under the supervision of Dr. Erika Schlenz (USP) and Dr. Beatriz Mothes (Museu de Ciencias Naturais, Fundacao Zoobotanica do Rio Grande do Sul). I am inventorying shallow-water sponges of South Brazilian coast (Santa Catarina State) by scuba diving.

I have been working with Dr. Beatriz Mothes in the following projects:

• Taxonomy and biogeography - Brazilian coast, Uruguay and Argentina (South Atlantic), (general sponges) particularly Demospongiae;
• Antarctic Brazilian Program (general sponges), particularly Demospongiae.
• Bioactivity of Brazilian sponges in cooperation with pharmacologist and researchers of SOAD (South-American Office for Anticancer Drug development).

Sally Leys

Biology Department, University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C., Canada, V8W 2Y2
Fax: 604 721 7120
Email: leys@uvvm.uvic.ca

Current projects and interests:

• Organelle transport in hexactinellid sponges; description and analysis of mechanism and significance to syncytial nature of Hexactinellids.
• Growth rates and regeneration in hexactinellids.
• Cell/tissue culture of sponges.

George Mackie

Biology Department, University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C, Canada, V8W 2Y2
Fax: 604 721-7120
Email: mack@uvvm.uvic.ca

Current projects and interests:

• Hexactinellida: regulation of feeding current; electrical activity.

Manuel Maldonado

Department of Aquatic Ecology, Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (CSIC), Camino de Santa Bárbara s/n, Blanes, Girona 17300, Spain.
Fax: + (34) 72-337806 - Phone: + (34) 72-336101
Email: maldonado@ceab.csic.es

Current projects and interests are diverse aspects of sponge biology, especially larval and recruitment ecology, bathymetric and geographic distributions, formation of siliceous skeletons, and sponge taxonomy. For further information link to my pages at Blanes.

Beatriz Mothes

Museu de Ciencias Naturais, Fundacao Zoobotanica do Rio Grande do Sul. Cx Postal 1188, 90610-000, Porto Alegre, RS, BRAZIL
Phone: +55 5l 336 1511 - ramal 147
Fax: +55 51 336 l778
E-mail: bmothes@portoweb.com.br

For the last 4 years I have been working on my PhD on taxonomy and biogeography on sponges (Demospongiae) collected off the coast of north and northeastern Brazil. This Thesis is now finished and the manuscript is being adapted for publication.

Current projects:

• Taxonomy and biogeography - Brazilian coast, Uruguay and Argentina (South Atlantic), (general sponges) particularly Demospongiae; Researcher from Antarctic Brazilian Program (general sponges), particularly Demospongiae.
• Bioactivity of Brazilian sponges in cooperation with pharmacologist and researchers of SOAD (South-American Office for Anticancer Drug development).
• I have started the revision of Geodiidae.

Dorte Mehl

Institut für Paläontologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstr. 74-100, D-12249 Berlin
Fax: (49) 30 7762070
E-mail: palaeont@zedat.fu-berlin.de

I am interested in phylogenetic systematics, palaeobiology and evolutionary ecology in sponges. My dissertation was on the Mesozoic and Recent Hexactinellida. Currently, I am working on the Paleozoic Demospongiae and within this framework I am especially studying the phylogeny of Recent and fossil desma-carrying demosponges ("Lithistida"). Further, I work on the extinct Paleozoic calcareous sponges, the Heteractinellida and Polyactinellida. Another focus is on the evolution of Early Cambrian sponges and sponge-like organisms such as the Chancelloriidae.

Bernard Picton

Zoology Department, Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens, BT9 5AB, Northern Ireland, UK

Telephone: Int+44 1232 383146 Fax: Int+44 1232 383103
Email: bernard.picton.um@nics.gov.uk
Web page

Current projects and interests:

• Field survey of marine life of shallow water around the Irish coast.
• Taxonomy and identification of Sponges of the north-east Atlantic.
• Development of databases for biological recording in the marine environment.
• Underwater photography of habitats and species.
• Development of CD-ROM of biotopes and species of Great Britain and Ireland.

Henry M. Reiswig

Redpath Museum, McGill University, 859 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2K6
Phone: 1-514-398 4089
Fax: 1 514 398 3185
Email: inhr@musicb.mcgill.ca

Current projects and interests:

• Hexactinellida - Fine tissue organization and systematics
• Freshwater sponges - Systematics of Canadian forms and physiological ecology of dormancy.

Klaus Ruetzler

Dept. of Invertebrate Zoology, NHB 163 Smithsonian institution Washington, D.C. 20560, USA
Fax 1 202 357 3043
Email: ruetzler@nmnh.si.edu

Current projects and interests:

• Klaus is working on aspects of larvae in the mangrove, and is busy being director of CCRE (Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems), a large, interdisciplinary marine program based at our Smithsonian lab off the coast of Belize--write to us for info!

Floyd R. Sandford

Dept. of Biology, Coe College Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
Phone: (319)-399-8576
Fax: (319)-399-8748
Email: fsandfor@coe.edu Web page

Current projects and interests:

• Studying the nature of the association between those species of hermit crabs that typically occupy "mobile" or portable sponge shelters, and the sponges themselves. Study is focused on the portable sponge-Pagurus impressus association from the NE corner of the Gulf of Mexico. Long-term interests include identifying the Gulf sponge and determining its relationship to other portable sponges from N. America (all from the Pacific NW?) and to other such sponges reported from the U.K and other locations worldwide.

Kathleen Smith

Dept. of Invertebrate Zoology, NHB 163 Smithsonian institution Washington, D.C. 20560, USA
Fax 1 202 357 3043
Email: mnhiv014@sivm.si.edu

Current projects and interests:

• Kate is collection manager for the USNM sponge collection and is currently working with S. Pomponi on little publ. listing common and scientific names of sponges of United States and Canada, and with C. Diaz and N. Boury-Esnault on developing a small (15 species) pilot project for ETI.

Antonio M. Sole-Cava

Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro (U.F.R.J.), Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Genetica, Bloco A-CCS-ILHA- DO-FUNDAO, Rio de Janeiro 21941, Brazil.
Fax: 55 21 2808043 - Phone: 55 21 2808043
Email: asole@omega.lncc.br

Current projects and interests:

• Molecular systematics of marine sponges. Currently trying to set up conditions for work with DNA fingerprinting to approach questions about reproductive biology (larval fusion; sexual x asexual reproduction) of porifera. I hope I'll be able to do soon some population genetics work with some intertidal species. Detection of sibling species is another field I do some eventual work on (suggestions welcome!). Are there, really, any cosmopolitan species of sponges (except, perhaps, some Clionas and some deep sea forms) ?

Shirley Sorokin

Museum of Tropical Queensland, 70-84 Flinders St. Townsville, Queensland, 4810, Australia Ph: 077 211662

• Looking for a known metabolite in symbionts of a bioactive sponges (Dictyoceratida).

Robert W. Thacker

Assistant Professor, UAB Department of Biology, CH 109, 1530 3rd Ave South, Birmingham, AL 35294-1170
voice: 205-934-4006
fax: 205-975-6097
Email: thacker@uab.edu
Web page

Current projects and interests:

• Molecular systematics of Dysidea spp.
• Coevolution of Dysidea spp. and their microbial symbionts
• Evolution of marine natural products

Ole Tendal

Zoological Museum, Department of Invertebrates, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
Tel: +45 3532 1118
Fax: +45 3532 1010
E-mail: ostendal@zmuc.ku.dk

Current projects and interests:

• Link to Ole's home page in Copenhagen

Maria J. Iosune Uriz

Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (C.S.I.C.), Cami de Santa Barbara s/n, 17300 Blanes, Spain
Tel: 72.336101
Fax: 72. 337806
Email: iosune@ceab.csic.es
Home page

Current projects and interests:

• Sponge Systematics and cytology
• Chemical ecology of sponges:
  • chemical defenses along the whole life cycle (toxicity, deterrence)
  • chemical cues (induction/inhibition of recruitment)
• Location of toxicity in sponge cells
• Larval behaviour at setlement
• Natural toxicity in benthic communities along environmental gradients
• Pollution, stress and production of chemical defenses (are they related?)

Jean Vacelet

Centre d'Oceanographie de Marseille, Station Marine d'Endoume, rue Batterie des Lions, 13007 Marseille, France.
Phone: (33) 4 91 04 16 27
Fax: (33) 4 91 04 16 35
Email: jvacelet@com.univ-mrs.fr

Current projects and interests:

• General interest in sponge taxonomy, biology, and ecology.
• The relationships between extant calcified sponges and their fossil counterparts, sponges of marine caves, and symbiosis with micro-organisms are among my main interests.
• I am presently studying the biology of the carnivorous Cladorhizidae from a Mediterranean cave, deep-sea cladorhizids and...etc.

Rob van Soest (I insist on the "van")

Institute of Taxonomic Zoology (Zoological Museum), University of Amsterdam, P.O.Box 94766, 1090 GT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Phone: 31 20 525 6901 - Fax: 31 20 525 5402
Email: soest@bio.uva.nl

Current research interests:

• Systematics, including chemosystematics, of Demosponges. Participation (co-editor as well as contributor) in the Systema Porifera project, charged with revision of Myxillina, Halichondriidae, Desmoxyidae, and Agelasidae.
• Chemosystematics includes a revision of the identity of vouchers from which secondary metabolites have been described. It also includes cooperation with chemists (notably Dr J.C. Braekman, Brussels) and microbiologists (notably Dr C. Woldringh, Amsterdam) to detect involvement of microsymbionts. Together these approaches are aimed at determining the extent to which chemistry can be used to support or refute proposals for Demosponge classification.
• A further project concerns the production of multimedia sponge CD-ROMs containing pictures, descriptions and keys to local sponge faunas. The software used for these is Linnaeus II, developed by ETI, Amsterdam.
• Descriptions of sponges from various parts of the world (Caribbean, Indonesia, West Africa, Seychelles), often in cooperation with others, are ongoing.

Clare Valentine

Position : Curator of Porifera, Invertebrates 1 Division Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road South Kensington, LONDON SW7 5BD, U.K.
Tel : +44 (0)171 938 9252
Fax : +44 (0)171 938 9158
Email: cv@nhm.ac.uk

Museum Home Page

Clare is collection manager for the NHM sponge collection and the associated library.

General Interests :

• Curatorial practices and techniques especially the use of archival quality materials, pest control and disaster planning.

Current Projects :

• Reorganisation of the sponge collections in line with the taxonomy defined by the "Systema Porifera" project.
• Contributing data on types held at the NHM to Rob van Soest's North Atlantic Sponges project for ETI.
• Compiling a database on the sponge biodiversity recorded for Use of uninitialized value in concatenation (.) or string at E:\listplex\SYSTEM\SCRIPTS\filearea.cgi line 455, line 1032. the British Isles to be made available on the NHM's internet site.
• Working with Michelle Kelly-Borges on various NHM collection based projects.

Clive Wilkinson

Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No 3. Townsville, M.C. 4810 Australia

Current projects and interests:

• Major theme is symbiosis with cyanobacteria and bacteria. Other theme is the role of sponges in bioerosion. Drift is now away from sponges to effects of pollution on coral reefs. Future work may be more into reef management with one project on the burner i.e. the description of sponges in New Caledonia.

Peter Willemsen

TNO Coatings, Section Anti-Fouling Research P.O. Box 57, 1780 AB Den Helda, The Netherlands.
Fax: 31-223O 20678
Phone: 31-2230 38854
Email: peterw@bct.tno.nl

Current projects and interests:

• The last 4-5 years I've been working on the use of antifouling compounds from sponges in antifouling paints. As you probably know many marine organisms produce bioactive secondary metabolites. We are conducting bioassay guided purification programmes of sponge extracts using as the main screening assay a settlement test with cyprid larvae of the barnacle Balanus amphitrite. Besides finding novel antifouling compounds I am interested in the role of secondary metabolites in nature (antifouling, competition for space, antipredation).

Ursula Witte

Sonderforshungsbreich 313, University of Kiel, Heinrich-Hecht-Platz 10, D-24098 Kiel
Fax: 49 431 880 1569
Email: uwitte@geomar.de

Current projects and interests:

• Ecology and biology of deep sea sponges from the Northern North Atlantic. We are interested in the role these suspension-feeders play in material fluxes between the upper sediment layer and the bottom nepheloid layer. I am concentrating on reproduction (LM, TEM), energy metabolism (adenosine nucleotide levels, oxygen consumption etc. via direct microcalometry) and particle uptake, biodeposition, etc. (flume experiments). Whoever might be interested in using the calorimeter or the flume will be welcome: we definitely need more data from shallow water species to compare!

Gert Woerheide

Institut und Museum für Geologie und Palaeontologie, Universitat Goettingen, Golschmidtstr. 3, D-37077 Goettingen, Germany
Phone: 49 551 39 79 45
Fax: 49 551 39 79 96
Email: gwoerhe@gwdg.de
Web page

Current projects and interests:

• I am working on my PhD on the biogeography, biology, biomineralisation, taxonomy and phylogeny of the indopacific sclerosponge Astrosclera willeyana (Lister 1900). I will compare the results with fossil material of the Astrosclera-type from the Triassic of Antalya (Turkey) and the Cassian Beds (Alps) to develop a biological and phylogenetical model for this special type of sponges. My project is part of a larger project of Prof. Joachim Reitner on sclerosponges and microbialites. My other interests are sponge communities of cryptic reef habitats and role of symbiotic bacterial in sclerosponges.

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