Growth Rate of Jamaican Coral Reef Sponges after Hurricane Allen

Growth rate estimates for five coral reef sponges on the Discovery Bay fore-reef are presented. These were determined from the size of individual sponges growing on the coral rubble that was deposited when Hurricane Allen struck the north coast of Jamaica in August 1980. Sponges collected in February 1986 were weighed and their growth rates determined using the MIX program, originally developed to analyze size-frequency data in fish populations. Sponge doubling times were between 232 and 304 days, with evidence that early exponential growth may be slowing down after four years. The fastest growing sponges were those with small populations of symbiotic cyanobacteria, indicating that there may be a selective advantage for those sponges with photosynthetic symbionts.