Schedule
Sunday October 9th
15.00 - 17.00
Registration
Bring your poster for session I
Monday October 10th
8.00 --
Registration & coffee
9.00 - 9.15
Welcome by Naturalis
Maaike van de Kamp-Romijn (Director Research & Education)
9.15 - 9.30
Opening by Organizing committee
Nicole de Voogd, Jasper de Goeij, Detmer Sipkema, Ronald Osinga
Theme II: Ecosystem Function and Service, chair Shirley Pomponi
9.30 - 10.15
Keynote speaker Ana Riesgo
Recruitment and connection: pillars of sponge resilience and ecosystem provisioning
10.15 - 10.30
talk
Lauren K. Olinger
Sponges with microbial symbionts transform dissolved organic matter and take up benthic cyanobacterial mat exudates
10.30 - 10.45
talk
Lucía Pita
Simulated extreme summer warming conditions alter Aplysina aerophoba’s capacity to respond to microbial signals
10.45 - 11.15
Coffee break
Theme II: Ecosystem Function and Service, chair Ana Riesgo
11.15 - 11.30
talk
Laura Steindler
Aerobic Methane Cycling in the Sponge-Holobiont
11.30 - 11.45
talk
Benjamin Mueller
What the sponge is DOM?
11.45 - 11.50
speedtalk
Marta Ribes
Community nutrient fluxes in the Mediterranean coralligenous: sponges are key players
11.50 - 11.55
speedtalk
Leontine Becking
When reefs become hot and murky: will sponges, macroalgae and benthic cyanobacterial mats take over?
11.55 - 12.00
speedtalk
Christopher Spagnolia
Evaluating the Effect of Thermal Anomalies on Coral Reef Benthic Competitive Interactions
12.00 - 12.15
talk
Federica Maggioni
Shifts in sponge organic matter recycling and symbiont photosynthetic activity under extreme environmental conditions
12.15 - 12.30
talk
Jan Vicente
Ecological succession of the sponge cryptofauna in response to climate change stressors
12.30 - 13.30
Lunch
Theme I: Species and Populations, chair Paco Cardenas
13.30 - 13.45
talk
Inês Gregório
Present-day and future distribution of the glass sponge Pheronema carpenteri in a changing ocean
13.45 - 14.00
talk
Maggie Reddy
Biological and chemical diversity of sponges from Futuna Island in Eastern Indo-Pacific
14.00 - 14.15
talk
Dirk Erpenbeck
Molecular biodiversity of Indo-Pacific Demosponges
14.15 - 14.30
talk
Diana Ugalde
Which scale matters? Explaining sponge diversity of two ecoregions: β-diversity, scales of spatial variation, and ecological processes
14.30 - 14.35
speedtalk
Bobbie Renfro
Filtering through our methodologies: A comparison of techniques for documenting tropical marine sponges
14.35 - 14.40
speedtalk
André Padua
Filling the gaps of calcareous sponge (Porifera, Calcarea) diversity in Eastern Brazil
14.40 - 14.45
speedtalk
Bruno Annunziata
Biogeography of marine sponge fauna along the Western South Atlantic
14.45 - 15.00
talk
Nadia Santodomingo
On the evolution of Tethya species: integrating morphology, molecular markers, and microbiomes
15.00 - 15.30
Coffee break
Theme I: Species and Populations, chair Dirk Erpenbeck
15.30 - 15.45
talk
Andreu Santín
Mediterranean coral provinces as sponge diversity reservoirs: is there a Mediterranean Cold-Water Corals sponge fauna?
15.45 - 16.00
talk
Janie Wulff
Parallel phenotypic plasticity and divergent ecological strategies in molecularly and morphologically similar sponge species
16.00 - 16.15
talk
Philip Heller
Spiculometer: Toward development of a high-throughput, automated identification and measurement system for sponges using neural network identification and classification of sponge spicules
16.15 - 16.20
speedtalk
Heidi Meyer
Beyond the tip of the seamount
16.20 - 16.25
speedtalk
Yen-Huei Li
The genus Cliothosa: new diagnostic characters from spicule biometry
16.25 - 16.30
speedtalk
Torcuato Pulido Mantas
A photogrammetric approach to estimate growth in Porifera: Sarcotragus foetidus (Schmidt, 1862) and Chondrosia reniformis (Nardo, 1847) study cases.
16.30 - 16.35
speedtalk
Lina Bayona
Chemical profiles of three different genetic groups of giant barrel sponges and possible implications in their response to environmental conditions
16.35 - 16.50
talk
Thomas Turner
A common garden of exotic Halichondriidae in Southern California
16.50 - 17.05
talk
Julio Diaz
A common garden of exotic Halichondriidae in Southern California
17.05 - 18.30
Naturalis exhibition evening opening
17.30 - 18.30
Poster session I
18.30 - 19.30
Icebreaker at Naturalis
Tuesday October 11th
Deep-sea sponges (mixed themes), chair Jasper de Goeij
9.00 - 9.15
Maria Belen-Arias
Ocean-wide deep-sea biodiversity assessment using sponges as natural eDNA samplers
talk
9.15 - 9.30
Joana Xavier
The Azores region as a biodiversity hotspot for deep-sea sponge fauna
talk
9.30 - 9.35
speedtalk
Dorte Janussen
An exceptional occurrence of deep-sea sponges in the region of former Larsen Ice Shelves, Antarctic Peninsula, with the description of two new species
9.35 - 9.40
speedtalk
Tanja Stratmann
Habitat types and megabenthos composition from three sponge-dominated high-Arctic seamounts
9.40 - 9.45
speedtalk
Ulrike Hanz
Hotspots of carbon and nutrient cycling in the deep-sea: Oxygen uptake and inorganic nutrient dynamics in an Arctic sponge ground
9.45 - 10.00
talk
Manuel Maldonado
How a sponge aggregation works: Teachings from the Vazella ground
10.00 - 10.15
talk
Furu Mienis
The important role of sponges in carbon and nitrogen cycling in deep-sea biological hotspots
10.15 - 10.30
talk
Amanda Kahn
Factors affecting respiration and water processing by deep-sea sponges
10.30 - 11:00
Coffee break
Deep-sea sponges (mixed themes), chair Ute Hentschel
11.00 - 11.15
talk
Kathrin Busch
The Deep-sea Sponge Microbiome Project: Biodiversity, environmental drivers and sustainability of the global deep-sea sponge microbiome
11.15 - 11.30
talk
Vasilis Gerovasileiou
Insights to the understudied sponge assemblages of the deep eastern Mediterranean Sea
11.30 - 11.35
speedtalk
Magalie Castelin
Diversity and structure of sponge-associated microbial communities living on the seamounts of the New Caledonian EEZ.
11.35 - 11.40
speedtalk
Javier Cristobo
Sponges of El Cachucho (Cantabrian Sea), the first Marine Protected Area in Spain
11.40 - 11.55
talk
Celso Domingos
Deep-sea glass sponge fauna (Porifera, Hexactinellida) of the tropical central Atlantic seamounts: new species and diversity patterns
11.55 - 12.10
talk
Swee-Cheng Lim
New demosponges in the abyssal nodule fields of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (Pacific Ocean)
12.10 - 12.25
talk
Erik Wurz
Adverse effects of crushed seafloor massive sulphide deposits on the boreal deep-water sponge Geodia barretti Bowerbank, 1858
and its associated fauna
12.25 - 13.30
Lunch
Theme III: Microbial Ecology, chair Detmer Sipkema
13.30 - 14.15
Keynote speaker
Torsten Thomas
Metabolic and molecular interactions in the sponge holobiont
14.15 - 14.30
talk
Michelle Achlatis
Shedding (sun)light on the function of photosymbiosis in sponges
14.30 - 14.45
talk
Pamela Engelberts
Unravelling symbiosis in the Great Barrier Reef sponge Ianthella basta
14.45 - 14.50
speedtalk
Asimenia Gavriilidou
Candidatus Nemesobacterales, a sponge-specific clade of the candidate phylum Desulfobacterota adapted to a symbiotic lifestyle
14.50 - 14.55
speedtalk
Tamara Stuij
The impacts of humic substances, temperature and ultraviolet radiation on sponge bacterial community structure and diversity
14.55 - 15.00
speedtalk
Valerio Mazzalla
Inspecting the microbiome and metabolomic compartments of Mediterranean sponge holobionts through an integrated ‘omics approach.
15.00 - 15.30
Coffee break
Theme III: Microbial Ecology, chair Torsten Thomas
15.30 - 15.45
talk
Bettina Glasl
Reduced to a minimum – unprecedented genome reduction of an ammonia-oxidizing archaeal sponge symbiont
15.45 - 16.00
talk
Qi Yang
Uncovering the structural and functional specificity of the microbiome within marine sponge stem cells
16.00 - 16.15
talk
Lara Schmittmann
Stability of dominant sponge-symbiont during antibiotic-induced microbiome disturbance
16.15 - 16.20
speedtalk
Lilach Raijman-Nagar
Sponge-microbial associations as a thermal refugia: the case study of the Red Sea sponge Diacarnus erythraenus
16.20 - 16.25
speedtalk
Rodrigo Costa
Differential chitin degradation and utilization features across host-associated and free-living marine microbiomes revealed by an integrated culturomics-metagenomics approach
16.25 - 16.40
talk
Catarina Loureiro
Exploring the Uncharted Biosynthetic Diversity of Marine Sponge Holobionts
16.40 - 16.55
talk
Liv Ascer
Diethylhexyl phthalate acute exposure affects microbial community structure in Hymeniacidon heliophila (Demospongiae, Halichondriidae)
16.55 - 17.10
talk
Sven Rohde
Environmental changes affect chemical, physiological and ecological performance of a sponge-cyanobacteria holobiont
Wednesday October 12th
Theme V: Applied Science, chair Ronald Osinga
9.00 - 9.45
Keynote speaker
Shirley Pomponi
Sponge Cell Culture: What Worked, What Didn’t, What’s Next
9.45 - 10.00
Miguel Rocha
Marine sponge collagen and Sr-doped fish bones-based 3D printed scaffolds for bone tissue engineering
talk
9.30 - 9.45
talk
Hermann Ehrlich
Actin and the realization of unique biosilica-based architectures in sponges
9.45 - 9.50
speedtalk
Laurent Meijer
From Sea to Pharmacy: Leucettinib-21, a drug candidate derived from Leucettamine B, a calcareous sponge (Leucetta microraphis)
natural product, under development for the correction of cognitive disabilities in people with Down syndrome or Alzheimer’s disease
9.50 - 9.55
speedtalk
Adrian Galitz
Secondary metabolites in sponges: Current insights on taxonomic specificity, evolutionary history, spatial variability, and genomic pathways
9.55 - 10.00
speedtalk
Anshika Singh
Soak up like a sponge: The bioaccumulation potential of marine sponges from Gulf of Mannar, India.
10.00 - 10.15
talk
Eleonora Tassara
Seasonal Molecular Modifications Observed in the Extracellular Matrix of the Marine Demosponge Chondrosia reniformis (Nardo, 1847) and their Possible Implications in Biotechnological Usage
10.15 - 10.30
talk
Tiago Silva
Extraction of collagen from different species of marine sponges: protein comparison and assessment of biotechnological potential
10.30 - 11:00
Coffee break
Theme V: Applied Science, chair Peter Schupp
11.00 - 11.15
talk
Kenneth Sandoval
The Haliclona indistincta genome reveals a new family of Metazoan megasynthases
11.15 - 11.30
talk
Camilla Roveta
Heavy meals for a light sponge: mercury bioaccumulation in the sponge Chondrosia reniformis (Nardo, 1847) and its prokaryotic community
11.30 - 11.45
talk
Barbara Crouch
Survival and growth of sponge recruits in a land-based nursery
11.45 - 11.50
speedtalk
Mert Gokalp
The last Dance with Chondrosia reniformis “A decade–long effort for large–scale maricultures for collagen production”
11.50 - 11.55
speedtalk
Marcela Loy Martinez
Establishment of Methods for Sponge Hybridoma Clonal Growth
11.55 - 12.05
Nicole de Voogd
The World Porifera Database
12.05 - 12.15
Remembering Sponge scientists
12.15 - 12.45
Lunch
12.45 - 13.45
Poster session 2
14.00 - 16.00
Sponge genomics workshops (open to everyone)
14.00 - 17.00
World Porifera Database editor workshop (only editors)
Thursday October 13th
Theme II: Ecosystem Function and Service, chair Ben Mueller
9.00 - 9.15
María López-Acosta
Nudibranch predation boosts sponge silicon cycling
talk
9.15 - 9.30
Wang Cai
Harnessing sponge biofouling on artificial structures as natural eDNA sen-tinels for pelagic assemblages
talk
9.30 - 9.35
speedtalk
Teresa Morganti
Metabolic performance of four Mediterranean sponge species over a seasonal basis
9.35 - 9.40
speedtalk
Itziar Burgues
Seasonal variation in sponge pellet production rates in the Coraligenous habitat from in situ and ex situ experimental designs
9.40 - 9.45
speedtalk
Tal Idan
A decade in the twilight zone - studying mesophotic sponge grounds in the Mediterranean coast of Israel
9.45 - 10.00
talk
Peter Schupp
Mass mortality event of the barrel sponge Xestospongia sp.:Population dynamics and size distribution in Koh Phangan, Gulf of Thailand
10.00 - 10.15
talk
Brian Strehlow
Transcriptomic responses of sponge holobionts to in situ, seasonal anoxia and hypoxia
10.15 - 10.30
talk
Ana Colaço
Functional role of the sponge Pheronema carpenteri to its associated fauna
10.30 - 11:00
Coffee break
Fresh-water sponges (mixed themes), chair Scott Nichols
11.00 - 11.15
talk
Ulisses Pinheiro
How far can the gemmules reach? Biogeography of South American Freshwater sponges.
11.15 - 11.30
talk
Stephen Kolomyjec
Freshwater Sponges of the Great Lakes Region: Biodiversity, Distribution, and Phylogeny
11.30 - 11.35
speedtalk
Benoit Paix
The microbial community during the first life stages of the freshwater sponge Spongilla lacustris
11.35 - 11.40
speedtalk
Mallory McNulty
Bioaccumulation and Bioregulation of Trace Elements Within Freshwater Sponges
11.40 - 11.55
talk
Fabian Ruperti
Whole-body contractions in Spongilla lacustris are initiated by tissue relaxation and accompanied by physiological defense mechanisms
11.55 - 12.10
talk
April Hill
Development of Ephydatia muelleri as a model for studying animal:algal endosymbiosis
12.10 - 12.25
talk
Cristina Díez-Vives
The relationship between the genotype and the microbial communities in the freshwater sponge Ephydatia muelleri
12.25 - 13.30
Lunch
Theme IV: Organismal, Cell and Molecular Biology, chair Andia Chaves-Fonnegra
13.30 - 14.15
Keynote speaker
Scott Nichols
Dissecting the molecular mechanisms of whole-body contractions in Ephydatia muelleri
14.15 - 14.30
talk
Aida Verdes
Mapping transcriptome-wide gene expression within sponge tissue sections to investigate gonad evolution
14.30 - 14.45
talk
Dennis Lavrov
Loss of mitochondrial tRNA genes and mitochondrial import of cytosolic tRNA in Haplosclerida (Demospongiae, Porifera)
14.45 - 14.50
speedtalk
Antea Talajić
Characterization of cancer-associated RRAS2 and BRMS1 homologs from the freshwater sponge Eunapius subterraneus
14.50 - 14.55
speedtalk
Sarah Flensburg
Diurnal rhythms and light regulated behaviour in the demosponge Tethya wilhelma
14.55 - 15.00
speedtalk
Marco Giovine
Lysosome related Biosilica Machinery in the Demospongiae Petrosia ficiformis (Poiret, 1789)
15.00 - 15.30
Coffee break
Theme IV: Organismal, Cell and Molecular Biology, chair Dennis Lavrov
15.30 - 15.45
talk
Alexander Ereskovsky
Hidden diversity of regenerative mechanisms of sponges
15.45 - 16.00
talk
Andia Chaves-Fonnegra
Serotonin (5-HT) in Sponge Holobionts
16.00 - 16.15
talk
Kristina Dominko
Structure and function of cancer-related Developmentally regulated GTP-binding protein 1 (DRG1) is conserved between sponges and humans
16.15 - 16.20
speedtalk
Josephine Goldstein
Particle capture and transport in the demosponge Halichondria panicea
16.20 - 16.25
speedtalk
Angela Marulanda-Gómez
Development of a novel, quantitative in-vivo phagocytosis assay to unravel mechanisms of interaction in sponge-microbe symbiosis
16.25 - 16.30
speedtalk
Chiara Conti
Establishing an experimental system to investigate sponge-microbe recognition mechanisms
16.30 - 16.45
talk
Sara Campana
Metabolic responses of HMA and LMA sponges to changing coral reefs
16.45 - 17.00
talk
Meggie Hudspith
Macropinocytosis by sponge cells drives dissolved organic matter uptake in sponge holobionts
17.00 - 17.15
talk
Jacob Musser
Profiling cellular diversity in sponges informs animal cell type evolution
17.15 - 17.30
talk
Elizabeth Urban-Gedamke
Differentiation and Reaggregation of Cryopreserved Sponge Cells.
19.00 - 21.00
Sponge dinner at Naturalis
Student awards and logo prize
Friday October 12th
Theme I: Species and Populations, chair Lucia Pita
9.00 - 9.45
Keynote speaker
Paco Cardenas
Pili intricati intertexti
9.45 - 9.50
Christine Schönberg
Sponge functional growth forms
speedtalk
9.50 - 9.55
speedtalk
Jaaziel García-Hernández
Ents of Coral Reefs - Xestospongia muta functioning as oases for biodiversity
9.55 - 10.00
speedtalk
Claire Goodwin
Environmental predictors of sponge distribution in a potential Marine Protected Area – Eastern Shore Islands, Nova Scotia
10.00 - 10.15
talk
Raquel Pereira
On trees and vines – attempting to solve the phylogenetic relationships in Suberitida
10.15 - 10.30
talk
Marie Grenier
Bath sponges integrative taxonomy (Demospongiae, Dictyoceratida, Spongiidae): few certainties and a mess to be cleaned up
10.30 - 10.45
talk
Joëlle van der Sprong
Genomics to aid species identification in sponges - a case study of the Haplosclerida (Demospongiae)
10.45 - 10.50
speedtalk
Julio Fernandez
Twelve new species of Hymedesmia Bowerbank, 1864 (Hymedesmiidae, Poecilosclerida, Demospongiae) from the Chilean coast.
10.55 - 10.55
speedtalk
Erika Neave
Unravelling basin scale fish community structure through eDNA analysis of sponge tissues from natural history collections
10.55 - 11.00
speedtalk
Tatjana Bakran-Petricioli
Sponge assemblages along the light gradient in semi-submerged artificial caves in the Eastern Adriatic
11:00 - 11.30
Coffee break
Theme IV: Organismal, Cell and Molecular Biology (and sponges that are sneezing), chair Claire Goodwin
11.30 - 11.45
talk
Jose María Lorente-Sorolla
Evolution of sexual reproduction in sponges: genetic sex determination and microbial association with sexual mode strategies
11.45 - 12.00
talk
Oliver Voigt
Dynamic expression of biomineralisation genes in calcareous sponge sclerocytes
12.00 - 12.15
talk
Maria Eleonora Rossi
The evolution of molecular toolkits for biosilicification in demosponges (Porifera)
12.15 - 12.20
speedtalk
Marina Pozzolini
Near-infrared light effect in sponge tissue regeneration: a study on Chondrosia reniformis (Nardo, 1847)
12.20 - 12.25
speedtalk
Niño Posadas
Lineage-specific XBP1 homologs activate the unfolded protein response of a calcareous sponge under stress
12.25 - 12.30
speedtalk
Vanessa Ho
Why do sponges sneeze? Analysis of 3 years of hourly images and oceanographic data
12.30 - 12.35
speedtalk
Poppy Clark
Automated Image Analysis by New Machine Learning Tool allows Long-term Deep-sea Sponge Behaviour Study
12.35 - 12.50
talk
Niklas Kornder
Sponges sneeze mucus to shed particulate waste from their seawater inlet pores
12.50 - 13.05
talk
Maha Moussa
Insight on thermal stress response of demosponge Chondrosia reniformis (Nardo, 1847)
13.05 - 13.20
talk
Bárbara Ribeiro
Calcareous sponges in a high-CO2 world
13.20 - 13.30
Conference Closing
+ poster and presentation award
No lunch included
14.30 - 18.00
Leiden University lab
Sponge taxonomy Workshop (max 30 people)
Social event
Ice breaker and Gala dinner will be announced
Virtual platform
The online components of the 11th WSC can be accessed via the virtual platform. Participants can watch live streams of the opening and closing sessions and key note lectures. Thesenwill also be available as video to watch later. It will not be possible to exchange questions via the chat.
