| Seasonal Growth Rate of the Sponge Haliclona oculata (Demospongiae: Haplosclerida) (2008) | |||||||||
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| The interest in sponges has increased rapidly since the discovery of potential new pharmaceutical compounds produced by many sponges. A good method to produce these compounds by using aquaculture of sponges is not yet available, because there is insufficient knowledge about the nutritional needs of sponges. To gain more insight in the nutritional needs for growth, we studied the growth rate of Haliclona oculata in its natural environment and monitored environmental parameters in parallel. A stereo photogrammetry approach was used for measuring growth rates. Stereo pictures were taken and used to measure volumetric changes monthly during 1 year. Volumetric growth rate of Haliclona oculata showed a seasonal trend with the highest average specific growth rate measured in May: 0.012¿±¿0.004 day¿1. In our study a strong positive correlation (p¿ | |||||||||
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