MEPS 189:307-310 (1999)  -  doi:10.3354/meps189307

ABSTRACT: Until now, direct, non-invasive in vivo studies on water and metabolite distribution in living sponges have not been possible. Here we apply for the first time the non-invasive technique of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging to determine the spatial distribution of water in the marine sponge Suberites domuncula. After transfer of the sponge into deuterated water (D₂O) for a short incubation period of 18 min, no significant water exchange was observed, neither in S. domuncula nor in the hermit crab living in symbiosis with it, suggesting D₂O to be an ideal contrast enhancing agent for NMR imaging of sponges. Thus, NMR imaging provides a promising technique for the detection (and possibly quantification) of the distribution and transport of water both by diffusion and active transport in a living sponge.

KEY WORDS: NMR imaging · Sponges · Suberites domuncula · Water distribution