Spongia officinalis (Schmidt) (Porifera, Demospongiae) come biorimediatore in un impianto di allevamento ittico off-shore

Six microbiological parameters were studied in the seawater and in the demosponge Spongia officinalis collected in two different sampling periods (December 2005 and July 2006) from an off-shore fish-farm displaced off the Apulian coast (Southern Adriatic Sea). The abundances of the six microbiological parameters were always lower in the seawater than in the sponge samples. The highest densities of vibrios, total culturable bacteria at 37° C and fecal streptococci were observed in the sponge samples during the summer period.