Environmentally influenced variability in the morphology of Cinachyrella australiensis (Carter 1886)

This study examines populations of Cinachyrella australiensis across a range of habitats from three sites within Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia to assess the potential influence environmental factors may have on sponge morphological variability. Seven environmental variables were measured at each site on a monthly basis: conductivity, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, water temperature, salinity and water flow. Ten sediment samples were collected haphazardly from each reef and specific attributes of the sponges were recorded to test their correlation with particular environmental variables along with spicule dimensions (length, shaft width and head width) and morphological characteristics.

本研究以澳大利亚北领地达尔文港内三个采样点不同生境中的澳大利亚厚皮海绵（Cinachyrella australiensis）种群为研究对象，旨在评估环境因子对海绵形态变异的潜在影响。研究人员于每月对每个采样点测定7项环境变量，具体包括电导率、pH值、浊度、溶解氧、水温、盐度及水流速率。从每个礁体随机采集10份沉积物样本，同时记录海绵的特定属性、骨针尺寸（长度、轴宽及头宽）以及形态特征，以检验上述指标与特定环境变量之间的相关性。