During R/V Sonne cruise SO254 around New Zealand (January-February 2017), deep-sea sponges were incubated in-situ and ex-situ to measure oxygen consumption, inorganic nutrient fluxes, bacterial and phospholipid-derived fatty acid (PLFA) composition. Inorganic nutrient (ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, silicate, phosphate) fluxes and oxygen consumption in the sponge incubations were calculated by linear regression analyses of concentrations measured at the begin and the end of the 5 h incubations (nutrient fluxes) or of continuous measurements of oxygen concentrations (oxygen consumption).