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.