Diversity and distribution of Porifera in the bathyal and abyssal Weddell Sea and adjacent areas

During the ANDEEP I–III expeditions, we obtained a rich and highly diverse sponge collection from the deep Weddell Sea. All the three Poriferan classes, Calcarea, Demospongiae and Hexactinellida, were well represented. Among this material, we have identified a total of 76 species from 47 genera and 30 families. Of these, 17 species (22%) are new to science and 37 (49%) new for the Southern Ocean. Particularly remarkable is the considerable depth of the boundary between bathyal and abyssal sponge faunas. Both Demospongiae and Hexactinellida show a strong shift in their taxonomic composition from a typical shelf assemblage to a more cosmopolitan deep-sea fauna at around 2500 m. Within the Demospongiae, the families Polymastiidae and Cladorhizidae (carnivorous sponges) are particularly abundant and very diverse. The Calcarea are recorded for the first time from the Antarctic deep sea. The type of sampling gear used, especially the epibenthic sledge, was an important factor for the successful collection of deep-sea sponges during the ANDEEP campaigns.