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Transect sampling on the continental shelf off the Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania, revealed a patchy distribution of sponge species and populations. Major sponge habitats are inshore coastal sandstone flats harbouring a diverse infaunal sponge fauna, and the moving substrate of shells of live gastropods or empty shells occupied by hermit crabs which harbour a numerically important but species-poor incrusting sponge fauna. The latter forms occur over most of the depth profile. Horizontal distribution of the sponges shows a distinct gap in species and numbers associated with a muddy bottom area where the sediment-rich Banc d’Arguin run-off is found. North and south of this gap the specific composition of the infaunal sponges is considerably different and this is explained as evidence for limitation of range extensions, notably of the southern sponge fauna, by the muddy area.

80 methanolic extracts from sponges of Indonesia and Oman were screened for antifungal activity against ten strains fungi: Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium cucumerinum, Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium expansum, Rhizopus oryzae, Trichoderma harzianum, Aspergillus niger, Mucor pusillus, Absidia corymbifera and Absidia ramosa. The bromopyrrolic alkaloids hymenidin and sceptrin isolated from the sponges Agelas dispar and Agelas conifera, respectively, were also tested against the above fungi.

The influence of environmental factor, namely depth and sponge-coral interactions as well as the effects of infliction of standardized damages on the production of bromopyrrolic alkaloids isolated from the sponges Agelas dispar and Agelas conifera were analysed.