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A Report of Freshwater Sponge (Porifera: Spongillidae) in Central Nebraska

Little has been reported about the occurrence of freshwater sponges in Nebraska and no publications have previously recorded from central Nebraska waters. A large colony of freshwater sponges was discovered on the steel interior walls of a sunken (3.5 meters) delivery truck in a sand/rock quarry of the Platte River Valley near Kearney, Nebraska. Samples were collected and characteristics of the sponge were examined under magnification. Morphology indicates the sponge is a member of the genus Ephydatia. Although the species was not conclusively determined, it shares the most characteristics with E. muelleri. This is the first confirmed record of sponges from the Platte River drainage and central Nebraska. Introduction Sponges are filter-feeding animals that use large networks of internal channels to filter food and are thus exposed to waterborne pollutants. Thus sponges are potentially sensitive indicators of water quality and have been shown to be susceptible to changing pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, and other potential environmental contaminants (Kahlert and Neumann 1997, Hill and Hill 2002). Several thousand species of sponges have been identified, of which the vast majority are marine. Spongillidae is the only identified family of sponges found in North American fresh waters. In the United States, approximately 30 species of freshwater sponges have been identified with most found in the There is limited information on sponges in Nebraska. To date, only a single publication has recorded the presence of sponges in Nebraska. Dawson (1966) identified species associated with a fish hatchery in the northern Nebraska sandhills as Meyenia mulleri, Spongilla fragilis, and Carterius tubispermis. The taxonomy of sponges is currently undergoing substantial changes and Van Soest, et al. (2010) designate these species as Ephydatia muelleri, Eunapis fragilis, and Heteromeyenia tubisperma, respectively. This paper represents the first record of sponges in the Platte River Valley of central Nebraska.