W3 Professorship (tenured) @geomarkiel.bsky.social (GEOMAR, Germany) in Marine Experimental Benthic Ecology www.berufungen.uni-kiel.de/de/dateien/o...

Beneath the kelp forests of the Great Southern Reef, deep sponge gardens form living habitat on the seafloor. These slow-growing animal forests filter water, shelter marine life and hold species science is still working to name.

Development in the sea is tough and can end in starvation. @tylerjcarrier.bsky.social @utehentschel.bsky.social &co show that #SeaUrchin eggs contain a #plastid -derived structure whose light-dependent activity influences metabolism, #development & survival @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4mOAxZh

www.metaorganism-research.com/news/a-mothe...

A mother’s gift: plastid-derived structures help sea urchin development and disperse

– Joint press release by Kiel University and GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel – An international research team led by the CRC 1182 and GEOMAR has discovered for the first time that sea…

metaorganism-research.com

Brilliant new paper by @tylerjcarrier.bsky.social on how plastid-derived structures help sea urchin development and dispersal. 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003705 @plosbiology.org @geomarkiel.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social

Tyler J. Carrier@tylerjcarrier.bsky.social · 3mo ago

New paper entitled "Sea urchin eggs contain a plastid-derived structure that contributes to their development" is now out in @plosbiology.org! Here is a summary... journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

And another sponge #genome note from the Aquatic Symbiosis Genomics project! The large #sponge Geodia phlegraei, was sequenced by the Wellcome Sanger Institute. It can be found from Sweden/Norway to Canada in deep-sea boreal waters. wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/11-...

ASG Sponges genome note #24. Xestospongia bergquistia, an IndoPacific giant barrel sponge described by Jane Fromont (1991), named in honour of the New Zealand sponge biologist, Patricia Bergquist, and submitted for genome sequencing by Sandie Degnan. wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/11-...

The world needs more symbioses. Thanks @carmcdhume.bsky.social @symbiosky.bsky.social @microsky.bsky.social

Carmen Denman Hume@carmcdhume.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Forget complicated 'situationships'; read about symbioses - partnerships found everywhere in nature. I had access to some seriously expert brains @amjadkhalaf.bsky.social, @mmontonerin.bsky.social @utehentschel.bsky.social and others to discuss. Enjoy: sangerinstitute.blog/2026/02/13/n...

📢📢📢Lectureships at Bristol!📢📢📢 We're hiring 3 x lecturers (=assistant professor) in Biological Sciences, across the discipline. Great department, great colleagues, great building, great city Details here: www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

Oh my, potential sea star wasting in the Baltic!. Exciting and scary at the same time.

Katja Seebass@katjasee.bsky.social · 7mo ago

New preprint: first systematic, year-round field data showing widespread and persistent sea star wasting-type disease in Baltic Asterias rubens. On bioRxiv:

Interested in evolution, microbiota, and development? Then see the symposium in Glasgow below by @Tyler Carrier and Thomas Busch.

Tyler J. Carrier@tylerjcarrier.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Thomas Bosch and I have organized a symposium on the “Impacts of Microbiota on Animal and Plant Development” that will be part of the Euro EvoDevo meeting in Glasgow this summer. Please register through EED. Thanks to generous sponsors, we have some financial support for early-career scientists.

ASG Sponges genome note #23. The bread-crumb sponge Halichondria panicea is an emerging experimental model. With > 4800 publications, it is the most published species in the phylum Porifera. doi.org/10.12688/wel... @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @geomarkiel.bsky.social

ASG Sponges genome note #22. Geodia phlegraei is a deep water sponge of the North Atlantic. The genome is valuable for conservation of marine ecosystems. lnkd.in/eTZVzwYn @paccardenas.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @geomarkiel.bsky.social lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

ASG Sponges genome note #21. Aiolochroia crassa from Florida may look like bubble gum ice cream, but it is full of chemistry inside. lnkd.in/eFdscQ3C @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @geomarkiel.bsky.social Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

ASG Sponges genome note #20 on Haliclona indistincta from Ireland. Its name is derived from the paucity of defining characters. doi.org/10.12688/wel... @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @geomarkiel.bsky.social Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

ASG Sponges genome note #19. Geodia parva (Hansen, 1885), the first sponge genome from the Arctic. doi.org/10.12688/wel... @paccardenas.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @geomarkiel.bsky.social Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

ASG Sponges genome note #18. This is really exciting: the first genome of a carnivorous sponge, Lycopodina hypogea, collected from submarine caves in France. lnkd.in/ePHQsUcF @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

🌈 Dive into the rainbow! The #I_SEA_RAINBOWS project is officially launched! Studying Oscarella sponges — their colors, diversity & climate resilience @univ-amu.fr. Huge thanks to the @agencerecherche.bsky.social for supporting this adventure! #MarineBiodiversity #ClimateResilience #Sponges

Different sponges #gili #giliislands #lombok #diving #scuba #trawangan #diveandstay #giliair #fish #ocean #sealife #marinelife #padi #reef #sponges

Marine #sponges are generally considered biosynthetic "hotspots" (e.g. Theonella) - but does this always hold true? In our newest study led by @stephenjackson.bsky.social we are looking at Inflatella pellicula's biosynthetic capacity - and our results are surprising doi.org/10.1099/mgen...

New insights into the microbiome of the deep-sea sponge Inflatella pellicula and the secondary metabolic potential of metagenome-assembled genomes and the wider microbiome

Marine sponges are found in all of the world’s oceans, from the surface waters to the deepest abyssal zones. The marine sponge holobiont is a rich source of microbial and chemical diversity. Up to 63 ...

doi.org

Actus Mer/Sea News: Geochemical-mineralogical analysis of ferromanganese oxide precipitated on porifera in the MAGELLAN seamount, western Pacific - @FrontMarineSci http://dlvr.it/SgTlJL

OH WOW! A whole web page DEVOTED to SPONGE SPICULE Imagery ! #porifera #spongeThursday www.spicules.org

#ERGAReads | Integrative #phylogenomics positions sponges at the root of the animal tree 🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧬 #porifera #sponges #phylogenomics

Integrative phylogenomics positions sponges at the root of the animal tree

Determining whether sponges or ctenophores root the animal tree has important implications for understanding early animal evolution. Here, we examined support for these competing hypotheses by…

science.org

Swab, Wipe, & Rinse. "Our results suggest that early sponges were not biomineralized & that both biosilicification & biocalcification evolved independently multiple times across Porifera." Neat!

Philip Donoghue@phil-donoghue.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Our latest: Independent origins of spicules reconcile paleontological and molecular evidence of sponge evolutionary history, led by @meleonora-rossi.bsky.social with help from friends @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social including @anariesgo.bsky.social @evopalaeo.bsky.social Davide Pisani and many others

The marine conservation group @hifmb.de is looking for a postdoc and a Phd student to study coral genomics and conservation genetics. Join us to develop solutions for coral conservation and dive into the world of early branching metazoans: Deadlines coming up fast. jobs.awi.de/Vacancies/21...

#GEOMARJobs 🌊Postdoctoral scientist position (m/f/d) in the movement ecology of non commercial fish 🌊Postdoctoral position (m/f/d) in movement ecology and digital twins 🌊Zwei Ausbildungsplätze zum:zur Chemielaborant:in (m/w/d) 🔗 www.geomar.de/karriere-cam...

Want to study connectivity of brownalgal populations & carbon budgets in the Baltic Sea? Join our #ROVKA team within the new algal adaptation group led by @lies-nerd.bsky.social at @geomarkiel.bsky.social in collaboration with @bfn-de.bsky.social and @univie.ac.at, www.geomar.de/en/karriere/...

Ulisse Cardini"s talk had something interesting for everyone. Biggest audience so far in RD3 Marine Ecology. And nicest images.

Ulisse Cardini@symbiostoic.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Great discussions at @geomarkiel.bsky.social! Thanks to Alexi Pearson-Lund and David Ngugi for the invitation and organization, and to @hanin-alzubaidy.bsky.social, @thorstenreusch.bsky.social, @utehentschel.bsky.social and all others for the stimulating exchanges. 🌊🔬

ASG Sponges genome note #17. This little glass sponge, Bolosoma cyanae, traveled a long way from the deep South Pacific Ocean to Hinxton/Cambridge, where its genome was sequenced. wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/11-24 Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

The New Year is off to a great start with ASG Sponges genome note #16 on Phakellia ventilabrum, a fan-shaped sponge common in the North Atlantic. Great work by Sergi Taboada & team. lnkd.in/eXG6R-FV Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW