UTILIZATION AND ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF A SPONGE AS A SPAWNING BED BY THE LITTLE DRAGON SCULPIN BLEPSIAS-CIRRHOSUS

It was established that the little dragon sculpin Blepsias cirrhosus uses the sponge species Mycale adhaerens as a spawning bed. The eggs were completely concealed in the sponge tissues, and caused the sponge skeleton to be partly damaged. It is conceivable that the exclusive utilization of M. adhaerens by B. cirrhosus is a consequence of the advantageous softness and thickness of the sponge which allows the fish to inject the eggs. The eggs deposited in the sponge seemed to take advantage of predator avoidance, a constant supply of oxygen, and little interference by bacteria.