The Secret Lives of Sea Sponges

Sponges are the oldest animals on our planet, yet they thrive without brains. A sponge silently stuck to the reef blends perfectly into its environment, so that divers often pass it without a second glance. And yet, beneath that still surface, a sponge is astonishingly busy.

Barrel sponges
Ecology & Science

Alive in ways we are only beginning to understand, it is pumping, filtering, sensing, repairing, coordinating. 

A sponge survives by moving water. Through thousands or even millions of tiny pores, it draws seawater into its body. Specialised cells beat microscopic hairs that create a continuous current, bringing oxygen and food particles inside. A sponge the size of a football can filter thousands of litres of seawater in a single day.

Large Sponges can be reattached to Coral Reefs

A new study describes a novel technique for reattaching large sponges that have been dislodged from coral reefs.

Barrel sponge
Ecology & Science

Sponges are dominant components of coral reef ecosystems, often exceeding reef-building corals in abundance. Large sponges, often more than 1 m in diameter, may be hundreds to thousands of years old. When damaged or dislodged, large sponges usually die because they are unable to reattach to the reef substratum.

The method described in the recent issue of Restoration Ecology could be generally applied to the restoration of other large sponge species removed by human activities or storm events.<

Large Sponges can be reattached to Coral Reefs

20 Caribbean giant barrel sponges were reattached to the reef using sponge holders consisting of polyvinyl chloride piping, which was anchored in a concrete block that was set on a plastic mesh base.

Ecology & Science

Sponges are dominant components of coral reef ecosystems, often exceeding reef-building corals in abundance. Large sponges, often more than 1 m in diameter, may be hundreds to thousands of years old. When damaged or dislodged, large sponges usually die because they are unable to reattach to the reef substratum.

20 specimens of the Caribbean giant barrel sponge were removed and reattached at Conch Reef off of Key Largo, Florida in 2004 and 2005 at depths of 15m and 30m.

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