PAPALE M.

Porifera are one of the dominant components of the marine benthic communities in the Antarctic Sea (44% of the total species are endemic). Despite these data and the various studies on marine biodiversity, the abundance and diversity of sponges on shallow Antarctic reefs and in the deep sea are likely significantly underestimated. In this...

Despite their remoteness, polar regions are reached by pollutants emitted at lower latitudes due to long-range transport mechanisms. Pollution events can also occur at local scale following increasing research and tourism activities. Sponges are extremely efficient filter feeders. This ability makes them excellent accumulation systems and...

The associations between microbial populations and porifera are the topic of several studies, driven by the interest of a better understanding of dynamics in these relationships. It has been proven that sponges tend to actively select the microbial components for a closer relationship, and that these microbial communities play pivotal roles in...

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Porifera are generally considered optimal sentinels to detect the presence of contaminants in the environment, and the associated bacterial communities can be shaped by their occurrence. In this context, freshwater sponges are of increasing interest due to their capability to filter large volumes of water and sensitivity as bioindicators to...