Chlorophyll-a, cyanobacteria, fluorescence and total protein in healthy and diseased sponges in the Bahamas and Belize from 2008-2011 (Etiology of ARBS sponge disease project)

<p>To assess the interacting effects of nutrients and disease on <i>Aplysina cauliformis</i>, we provided nutrient enrichment to healthy and diseased sponges in a factorial experiment at LSI in the summer of 2009. Impacts on ARBS virulence (rate of lesion growth) and host response (growth and physiology of both the sponge and its cyanobacterial symbionts, <i>Synechococcus spongiarum</i>) were assessed.</p>