The Investigation of the Ball Sponge Cinachyrella kuekenthali from Two Different Environments on Jamaica’s North Coast

The purpose of this study was to examine specimens of the Jamaican Ball sponge Cinachyrella kuekenthali, collected from two proximal locations approximately 10 km apart on the North Coast of the island at comparable depths of 10 - 17 m. The locations represented two distinctly different environments—a silty bay area in proximity to a shipping channel (Columbus Park, Discovery Bay) in contrast to a pristine, clear reef wall (Rio Bueno, Trelawny). Two individuals were collected in a preliminary study in which cholesterol was found to be the main constituent of both extracts. Five individuals were collected from Columbus Park while six individuals were sourced from Rio Bueno. The specimens were extracted separately with dichloromethane to afford gum-like substances. From the results of the study, the masses of the Columbus Park specimens were higher (average: 97.22 g) than that of the Rio Bueno-sourced organisms (42.57 g) but the quantities of the dichloromethane extracts were lower (2.06% vs. 3.81%), suggesting that the Columbus Park sponges were more focused on survival than metabolite production.