β Scribed by G. Green
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
An investigation of the ecology of toxicity in marine sponges from different latitudes on the North American continent was made. Results indicated that toxicity in sponges increased with decreasing latitude. Three of the 34 species (9%) of sponges from San Juan Island, Washington, USA (48~ were toxic to fishes. Nine of the 44 species (20%) of sponges from Santa Catalina Island, California, USA (33~ were toxic. Seven of the 11 species (64%) of sponges from Zihuatanejo Bay, Guerrero, M&xico (17ON), were toxic. Twenty-seven of the 36 species (75%) of sponges fromLa Blanquilla, Veracruz, M&xico (19ON), were toxic. Most of these toxic sponges are openly exposed to fishes. The most common exposed sponges proved to be highly toxic to fishes. Force-feeding experiments conducted with wrasses demonstrated the effectiveness of the toxin of sponges. A hypothesis is proposed which explains the relationship between species diversity of fishes and sponge toxicity with latitude.
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## Abstract Sponges are sessile filter feeders found in all aquatic habitats from the tropics to the arctic. Against potential environmental hazards, they are provided with efficient defense systems, e.g., protecting chaperones and/or the Pβ170/multidrug resistance pump system. Here we report on a