• Biodiversity, environmental drivers, and sustainability of the global deep-sea sponge microbiome 

      Busch, Kathrin; Slaby, Beate M.; Bach, Wolfgang; Boetius, Antje; Clefsen, Ina; Colaço, Ana; Creemers, Marie; Cristobo, Javier; Federwisch, Luisa; Franke, Andre; Gavriilidou, Asimenia; Hethke, Andrea; Kenchington, Ellen; Mienis, Furu; Mills, Sadie; Riesgo, Ana; Ríos, Pilar; Roberts, Emyr Martyn; Sipkema, Detmer; Pita, Lucía; Schupp, Peter J.; Xavier, Joana R.; Rapp, Hans Tore; Hentschel, Ute (Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2022)
      In the deep ocean symbioses between microbes and invertebrates are emerging as key drivers of ecosystem health and services. We present a large-scale analysis of microbial diversity in deep-sea sponges (Porifera) from ...
    • Deep-sea sponge derived environmental DNA analysis reveals demersal fish biodiversity of a remote Arctic ecosystem 

      Brodnicke, Ole Bjørn; Meyer, Heidi Kristina; Busch, Kathrin; Xavier, Joana R.; Knudsen, Steen Wilhelm; Møller, Peter Daniel Rask; Hentschel, Ute Humeida; Sweet, Michael John (Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2023)
      The deep-sea is vast, remote, and largely underexplored. However, methodological advances in environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys could aid in the exploration efforts, such as using sponges as natural eDNA filters for studying ...
    • Genetic diversity, gene flow and hybridization in fan-shaped sponges (Phakellia spp.) in the North-East Atlantic deep sea 

      Taboada, Sergi; Ríos, Pilar; Mitchell, Alex; Cranston, Alex; Busch, Kathrin; Tonzo, Vanina; Cárdenas, Paco A.; Sánchez, Francisco; Leiva, Carlos; Koutsouveli, Vasiliki; Cristobo, Javier; Xavier, Joana R.; Hentschel, Ute; Rapp v/dødsbo, Hans Tore; Morrow, Christine; Drewery, Jim; Romero, Pedro E.; Arias, Maria Belén; Whiting, Connie; Riesgo, Ana (Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2022)
      Deep-sea North Atlantic sponge grounds are crucial components of the marine fauna providing a key role in ecosystem functioning. To properly develop effective conservation and management plans, it is crucial to understand ...
    • A Microbial Nitrogen Engine Modulated by Bacteriosyncytia in Hexactinellid Sponges: Ecological Implications for Deep-Sea Communities 

      Maldonado, Manuel; López-Acosta, María; Busch, Kathrin; Slaby, Beate M.; Bayer, Kristina; Beazley, Lindsay; Hentschel, Ute; Kenchington, Ellen; Rapp, Hans Tore (Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2021-03-17)
      Hexactinellid sponges are common in the deep sea, but their functional integration into those ecosystems remains poorly understood. The phylogenetically related species Schaudinnia rosea and Vazella pourtalesii were herein ...
    • On giant shoulders: how a seamount affects the microbialcommunity composition of seawater and sponges 

      Busch, Kathrin; Hanz, Ulrike; Mienis, Furu; Mueller, Benjamin; Franke, Andre; Roberts, Emyr Martyn Tomas; Rapp, Hans Tore; Hentschel, Ute (Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020)
      Seamounts represent ideal systems to study the influence and interdependency of environmental gradients at a single geographic location. These topographic features represent a prominent habitat for various forms of life, ...