Journal de la Réserve Naturelle de Saint-Martin #24

The Pacotilles project, whose goal was to

collect samples of coral, sponges, algae, and

small crustaceans throughout the French An-

tilles archipelago - including Saint Martin - in

order to deepen our knowledge about the un-

derwater biodiversity in that zone, took place

in two phases.

Phase two, held on May 26 and

27, included participation by scientists prima-

rily interested in sponges, which make up the

majority of the Caribbean reefs, as compared

to the reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans,

which are primary coral. A tasty item on the

menu for hawkbill turtles and angelfish, some

of these sponges tend to develop in darkness,

or crevices of the reef, where they are less

exposed to predators. To their surprise, the

scientists noted that Saint Martin lacks cer-

tain species of sponges that are very abun-

dant in Guadeloupe, and on the contrary, has

an abundance of calcareous sponges of a lar-

ger size than those found in Guadeloupe or

Martinique. These researchers did surveys,

took photos and collected samples, hoping

that their analysis will help explain these dif-

ferences and maybe reveal the presence of as

yet unknown species of sponges, which num-

ber in the thousands. The Réserve Naturelle—

which replied favorably to the request for

authorization for diving and taking samples

by the Pacotilles team—will be kept abreast of

the results, which will eventually lead to addi-

tional protection in certain zones colonized

by these species.

Pacotilles sponges up

the Caribbean

L’amélioration

des

connaissances

sur les espaces

et les espèces

protégées

Better

Knowledge

About

Protected Areas

And Protected

Species

Le Journal de la

Réserve Naturelle

Nationale de

Saint-Martin N°24

Novembre 2015

Important scientific inventory projects are

rare, especially in the case of species that

are not often studied, such as sponges. But

recently, sponges have been of increased

interest to the pharmaceutical industry, in

that their molecules can block the develop-

ment of certain diseases.

Sponges make up the majority of the Caribbean reefs