Key Characteristics:
*Sponges are sessile ~ Attached to one spot all their life.
*Sponges have porus bodies
*Sponges lack true organs or even mouth/gut
*Suspension(filter) feeders
*There are 5000-10,000 species known today
Main Structures:
*Porocyte- doughnut shaped cells that allow water to enter the sponge (incurrent)
*Choanocytes- flagellated cells that line the interior of the spongocoel
-also called collar cells
-flagellum movement pulls water and food particles in through the porocytes
-food particles are trapped on the collar and later phagocytized into the cell
-also produce materials for spicules
*Spicule- simple skeleton that is spike shaped
-hard sponges have spicules made of calcium carbonate or silica (glass)
-soft sponges have spicules made of a protein called spongin (bath sponges)
*Osculum- Larger opening where water flows out of the sponge (excurrent)
Habitat:
Most sponges live in salt water and live in one spot their whole life. There are a few (about 150) species that do live in freshwater.
Interesting facts:
1. Early fossil records show that sponges inhabited Earth around 600 million years ago.
2. Some deep-water sponges can live to be over 200 years old.
3. Sponges are master filters. They can filter an amount of water 100,000 times their size each day. That means a basketball-sized sponge could filter an entire residential pool in one day.
4. Sponges often use chemicals to deter predators from eating them. Scientists have discovered that some of these chemicals may have potential to treat cancer and HIV.
5. The most abundant sponges in SWFL are loggerhead sponges, vase sponges, sheepswool sponges, glove sponges and tube sponges.
*Sponges are sessile ~ Attached to one spot all their life.
*Sponges have porus bodies
*Sponges lack true organs or even mouth/gut
*Suspension(filter) feeders
*There are 5000-10,000 species known today
Main Structures:
*Porocyte- doughnut shaped cells that allow water to enter the sponge (incurrent)
*Choanocytes- flagellated cells that line the interior of the spongocoel
-also called collar cells
-flagellum movement pulls water and food particles in through the porocytes
-food particles are trapped on the collar and later phagocytized into the cell
-also produce materials for spicules
*Spicule- simple skeleton that is spike shaped
-hard sponges have spicules made of calcium carbonate or silica (glass)
-soft sponges have spicules made of a protein called spongin (bath sponges)
*Osculum- Larger opening where water flows out of the sponge (excurrent)
Habitat:
Most sponges live in salt water and live in one spot their whole life. There are a few (about 150) species that do live in freshwater.
Interesting facts:
1. Early fossil records show that sponges inhabited Earth around 600 million years ago.
2. Some deep-water sponges can live to be over 200 years old.
3. Sponges are master filters. They can filter an amount of water 100,000 times their size each day. That means a basketball-sized sponge could filter an entire residential pool in one day.
4. Sponges often use chemicals to deter predators from eating them. Scientists have discovered that some of these chemicals may have potential to treat cancer and HIV.
5. The most abundant sponges in SWFL are loggerhead sponges, vase sponges, sheepswool sponges, glove sponges and tube sponges.