Research Projects

Sponges Phylum Porifera Grant, 1836) are among the structurally simplest, exclusively aquatic multi-cellular organisms that live attached to a substratum. These filter feeders have been the focus of much recent interest as they are a rich source of biologically active secondary metabolites and form close associations with a wide variety of organisms. Despite being one of the important components of ecological significance among the benthic sessile invertebrates in the reefal habitats, sponges are still poorly represented in several research, monitoring and conservation programmes. Species richness and diversity of sponges are often underestimated and a large number of Indo-Pacific sponges are misidentified, undescribed or their locality uncertain. The intricate issues associated with the identification of sponges could mainly be attributed to a wide range of colours, sizes, and morphological plasticity, which are, often be observed within a single species. Taxonomic studies on marine sponges in India have perhaps been sporadic and the knowledge of species and their population is largely incomplete. The proposed research is intended to study the sponges of the west coast of India with special attention to hitherto least explored regions viz., Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka along with their ecological interactions. The present study proposes to bridge the gap both spatially (hitherto least explored regions) and taxonomically (cover the species from cryptic habitats). It is envisaged that findings from the present study shall not only update the information in respect of the extent and status of sponges from the western coast of India also but improve our understanding of zoogeography for better management and conservation