![]() The antimicrobial assays revealed that all tested sponge extracts had strong antimicrobial properties and that the majority (80%) of the tested sponges were equally defended against pathogenic and environmental bacterial strains. The three chemically most active sponge species were additionally tested for their allelopathic properties against the scleractinian coral competitor Porites sp. Crude extracts of the ten most dominant sponge species were assessed for their chemical defenses against 35 bacterial strains (nine known as marine pathogens) using disc diffusion assays and general cytotoxic activities were assessed with brine shrimp lethality assays. This is the first study that investigates the bioactive properties of sponge species in the Western Indian Ocean region. Their success is, in part, dependent on their strong chemical defenses against predators, microbial attacks and other sessile benthic competitors. Sponges are one of the top spatial competitors on reefs worldwide. At many of these sites, sponge cover has increased over the last years. Reefs around Zanzibar are exposed to untreated sewage and runoff from the main city Stonetown. Coral reefs are experiencing increasing anthropogenic impacts that result in substantial declines of reef-building corals and a change of community structure towards other benthic invertebrates or macroalgae.
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