Sponge
By Alexis Anthony
Period 4
Oceanography
Summary
Sponges are the simplest form of multi-cellular animals.
There are more than 5,000 different types and come
in a large variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Most
live in salt water, but there are some fresh water
species as well. They like to live in clear, rather than
murky water, so their pores do not get clogged.
Before the mid 20th century, soft sponges were
routinely used for helmet padding, water filters, and
cleaning tools. Over-fishing resulted in near
extinction, so today most sponges in use are made of
synthetic materials.
Sponge Anatomy
• Heights vary from 1-200cm and diameters
range from 1-150cm.
• Their walls are lined with many small pores
called Ostia http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/images/sponges.htm which
allow constant water flow. This is how they
obtain food and oxygen and remove wastes.
• Sponges do not have internal organs, muscles,
nervous or circulatory systems.
• Their bodies are a mass of cells embedded in
gelatinous matrix and stiffened by bits of
calcium carbonate or silica and collagen.
Sponge Anatomy
• Sponges are made of four simple and independent cells.
– Collar cells - line the canals in the interior of the sponge. Flagella are attached to
the ends of the cells and they help pump water through the sponge’s body. By
pumping water, they help bring oxygen and nutrients to the sponge while
removing waste and carbon dioxide.
– Porocytes - the pores of the sponge. http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Porocytes
– Epidermal cells - form the skin on the outside of the sponge.
– Amoebocytes - exist between the epidermal and collar cells in an area called the
mesohyl. They help transport nutrients and form spicules, which are the
sponge’s skeletal fibers. They work together with the collar cells to digest the
food for the sponge and produce gametes http://www.merriamwebster.com/medical/gametes
for sexual reproduction .
Sponge Anatomy
Sponge Anatomy
Sponge Physiology
• Many forms exist – including urn shaped, tubed,
•
•
•
•
branched, and even shapeless
Sponges are filter feeders that sift microscopic
particles of food from the water
All digestion in sponges is intracellular; it takes
place inside cells
The water flowing through a sponge
simultaneously serves as its respiratory, excretory,
and internal transport system
As water passes through the body wall, sponge
cells remove oxygen from the water and put
carbon dioxide into the water
Sponge Taxonomy
• Kingdom –Animalia http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Animal
• Phylum – Porifera (Latin meaning “bearer of pores”)
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Porifera.html
• Class – Determined by the sponge’s skeleton
• Demospongiae - largest; bath sponge
• Hexactinellida (Hyalospongiae) -“glass” sponges
• Calcarea (Calcispongiae) – hard; “rock” sponges
• There are many different orders, families, genus, and
species (over 9,000 species). Some examples include:
Order: Poecilosclerida
Family: Spongiidae
Genus: Aplysina
Species: Aplysina Lacunosa
Hexactinellida
(Glass)
Demospongiae (Bath)
Calcarea (Rock)
Sponge Ecology
• Sponges may live as thin encrusting coatings on rocks and wood, or as long
thin branching fingers attached to the bottom of the sea.
• Environmental conditions, such as shelter and currents, affect sponge shapes
and dimensions. Differences in color are determined by the amount of light
available.
• Sponges provide housing for many other marine animals such as crustaceans,
mollusks, and small fishes.
• Symbiotic relationships occur between sponges, algae, and bacteria. Sponges
supply protection as the others provide food. Toxins released by a sponge can
also provide a solid shield of defense for the organisms within the symbiotic
relationship.
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/coral/coral3.htm
• Some chemicals that sponges secrete are being used as powerful antibiotics
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/antibiotics/article_em.htm
to treat bacteria and fungi.
Sponge Reproduction
• Most sea sponges are hermaphroditic
(having both sexes in one), but produce
only one type of gamete per spawn. (some
play the male role and the other plays the
female role, even though they are both
capable of playing either role).
• Sponges may reproduce both sexually and
asexually.
Sponge Reproduction (sexual)
The sperm is released into the
water column by the "male"
sponge and finds its way to the
"female" sponges, where
fertilization occurs internally.
Eventually, the planktonic larvae
are released from the female
sponge and float around in the
water column as plankton for
only a few days. They then settle
down and start growing. The
next time the sponges reproduce,
they may change sexual roles.
Sponge Reproduction (asexual)
-by external
budding and
fragmentation
http://www.wordiq.com/definitio
n/Budding
(fragments can
reattach to the
seabed
somewhere else).
http://biology.about.com/od/
genetics/ss/AsexualReproduction_3.htm
Sponge Importance to Humans
• Natural sea sponges can be used for bathing , cleaning,
painting and make-up application.
• One of the first drugs used for treating cancer,
cytosine arabinoside was isolated from a sea sponge.
• Genetic sequencing of sea sponges from the Great
Barrier Reef http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/
has revealed the ancient marine animals share almost
70% of human genes, including a large number
typically associated with
disease and cancer.
Bibliography
Bergquist, Patricia R. Sponges. London: Hutchinson, 1978.
Gage, John D., and Paul A. Tyler. Deep-sea biology: a natural history of organisms at
the deep-sea floor. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1991.
Myers, Phil. "ADW: Porifera: Information." Animal Diversity Web. 06 Jan. 2011
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Porifera.html>.
"Palaeos Metazoa: Porifera: Porifera (Sponges)." Palaeos. 10 Jan. 2011
<http://www.palaeos.com/Invertebrates/Porifera/Porifera.htm>.
"Porifera: Anatomy — Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas,
Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework
help. — Infoplease.com. 10 Jan. 2011
<http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0860479.html>.