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First published online December 3, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 4515-4524 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01289

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Kinetics and rhythm of body contractions in the sponge Tethya wilhelma (Porifera: Demospongiae)

Michael Nickel

Department of Zoology, Biological Institute, Stuttgart University, D-70550 Stuttgart, Germany

e-mail: michael.nickel{at}bio.uni-stuttgart.de

Accepted 15 September 2004

Sponges of the species Tethya wilhelma display rhythmic body contractions, which were analyzed by digital timelapse imaging and semi-automated image analysis. For the first time, differential, quantitative data on sponge behaviour could be obtained. The sponges are able to reduce their body volume by up to 73.3% during regular contractions. Each contraction cycle follows a characteristic pattern of four phases, permitting analysis of the kinetics of contraction and expansion. Long-term observations (for >7 days) reveal that the sponge contractions display a day-night periodicity in which contraction cycles are significantly longer during the dark hours. The contractions seem to be mediated by the pinacoderm; they are triggered locally and spread over the sponge surface at 12.5 µm s^-1. If two individuals of a clone are fused, the individual contraction rhythm of both sponges persists for several days, until a single new individual sponge is formed with a synchronized rhythm. The reported results and techniques establish T. wilhelma as a model organism for research on the development of aneural signal transduction and integration during early Metazoan evolution.

Key words: contraction, kinetics, diurnal rhythm, time-lapse imaging, coordination, behaviour, sponge, Tethya wilhelma

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