Data associated with Grant et al (MEPS) "The Effect of Suspended Sediments on the Pumping Rates of Three Species of Glass Sponge In situ "

The largest known glass sponge reefs in Canada are within the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area (HSQCS-MPA). However, human activities outside the core MPA boundaries, such as trawling, can create plumes of suspended sediments capable of travelling large distances. We studied the response of three glass sponge species to changes in suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) at 170 m depth inside the HSQCS-MPA. Two species reduced excurrent flow rate in response to natural and experimentally-induced increases in suspended sediment (r = -0.8 to -0.97, p < 0.05). Background suspended sediment levels were low and showed little variation (2.71 mg L-1 ± 0.09, mean ± SD). Species varied in the threshold of SSCs that triggered arrests. Sediment concentrations of 2.8 – 6.4 mg L-1 caused arrests in Rhabdocalyptus dawsoni while Heterochone calyx did not arrest until concentrations reached 5 – 10 mg L-1. Very small, but prolonged increases of suspended sediments (< 1 mg L-1 for R. dawsoni and 3.2 mg L-1 for H. calyx) caused arrests of several hours in R. dawsoni and prolonged periods of reduced flow in H. calyx. No arrests were observed in Farrea occa, even after repeated exposures up to 57 mg L-1. A sediment transport model showed that sediment concentrations can remain high enough to affect sponge behavior as far as 2.39 km from the source of the plume. The results highlight the importance of understanding the biology of different species for establishment of adequate boundaries in marine protected areas.