William Wolfe

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Gilchrist, Sandra

Area of Concentration

Natural Sciences

Abstract

All sponges (Porifera) have morphological properties, behavioral tendencies, and cell-intrinsic variables that react differently to environmental conditions, especially temperature, depending on the species. A disruption in the conditions of a host environment will cause the cellular properties of sponges to react in a way unique to its species due to the impact of environmental stress. The core morphological characteristics of sponges are the external structural mold, which tends to be cylindrical, asymmetrical, or radially symmetrical; a loose cellular level of organization; pore structure; an inhalant area; and optimization for overall surface area. Physiologically, every sponge species has a specific temperature threshold. Thermal stress is one of the most common detriments to the health of sponges, as it decomposes their structural mold and outermost skin cells (pinacocytes). Denatured skin cells lead to sponges turning black with a white bacterial film. To avoid denaturation, every sponge species needs to acclimate to shifts in their environment by actively adjusting their physiological reactions to the change in salinity, the difference in chemical composition of the seawater, and increased warmth in seawater. The phylum Porifera has three body forms: asconoid, leuconoid, and syconoid. All three body forms have specialized cells, which interact with stem cells to play an integral role in stem cell characteristics and cellular kinetics. This interplay notably impacts the wound-healing reaction rate of sponges. Outside of temperature and cellular kinetics, oilier cell-intrinsic control variables exist, such as microbiota, cell differentiation, regenerative mechanisms, and choanocyte plasticity. The balance between cellular homeostasis and cellular kinetics sustains the wound-healing reaction rate of sponges. The most crucial variables that impact the wound-healing reaction rate are the cellular kinetics of choanocytes and the changes in seawater's chemical composition, temperature, salinity, and pH level. Focusing on the morphological reaction similarities and discrepancies between four leuconoid sponge species from the class Demospongiae Spheciospongia vesparium, Haliclona reniera, Rhopaloeides odorabile, and Halisarca caerulea- in addition to literature about sponges universally, this literature review thesis aimed to determine why there are differences in species' reactions to the change in salinity, change in temperature, change in the chemical composition of different seawater regions, and change in pH through the examination of existing scientific research.

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