Table 1. Percentage of the ten most common sponge species overgrowing reef-building corals on less-fished and overfished reefs, indicating the chemical defense category of each species.
| Less-fished | Overfished | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | % | Defense | Species | % | Defense |
| Aplysina cauliformis | 14.29 | D | Niphates erecta | 9.72 | P |
| Mycale laevis | 12.44 | P | Amphimedon compressa | 8.34 | D |
| Ircinia felix | 6.76 | D | Aplysina cauliformis | 8.17 | D |
| Svenzea zeai | 6.45 | D | Mycale laevis | 8.08 | P |
| Amphimedon compressa | 5.07 | D | Chondrilla nucula | 7.66 | P |
| Agelas citrina | 3.84 | D | Iotrochota birotulata | 5.42 | P |
| Xestospongia muta | 3.38 | P | Xestospongia proxima | 4.91 | P |
| Aplysina fistularis | 3.07 | D | Aplysina fulva | 4.82 | D |
| Aiolochroia crassa | 2.76 | D | Amphimedon erina | 2.75 | D |
| Niphates erecta | 2.76 | P | Haliclona walentinae | 2.58 | D |
Notes.
D, chemically defended, or P, palatable (including chemically undefended and variably defended species). Defense category based on previous research (Pawlik et al., 1995; Loh & Pawlik, 2014).