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The pH of water must match that of seawater (pH 7.8–8.4) in order for sponge production to be maximized. Sponges are sensitive to temperature, and extreme fluctuations in ambient temperature can negatively affect the health of sea sponges. High temperatures lead to crashes in sponge cultures.
All freshwater and most shallow-water marine sponges have leuconid bodies. The networks of water passages in glass sponges are similar to the leuconid structure. [18] In all three types of structure, the cross-section area of the choanocyte-lined regions is much greater than that of the intake and outlet channels.
Hexactinellid sponges require a hard substrate, and do not anchor to muddy or sandy sea floors. [6] They are found only where sedimentation rates are low, dissolved silica is high (43–75 μM), and bottom currents are between 0.15 and 0.30 m/s. [5] Dissolved oxygen is low (64–152 μM), and temperatures are a cool 5.5-7.3 °C at the reefs. [5]
The study’s authors collected sponges from waters at least 100 feet deep off Puerto Rico and near the island of St. Croix, analyzed their skeletons’ chemical composition, charted their ...
Sponges like X. muta also absorb dissolved organic compounds directly from the seawater as part of their diet. [10] The giant barrel sponge is probably dioecious, and spawns its eggs or sperm directly into the water column. Clouds of sperm from males are emitted from the osculum, while females produce flocculent masses of eggs that are slightly ...
Sponges, specifically the sclerosponge species Winter studied, grow very slowly. It takes about 400 years for them to grow 10 centimeters, Winter said, and a huge amount of water passes through them.
This occurs through the presence of an ameobocyte on a deteriorating sponge. Once the deteriorating sponge is gone, the clump of cells remaining begins to grow a new sponge. [15] In sexual sea sponge reproduction, gametes are released into the water by male sponges and are absorbed through the inhalant current of the female sponge.
Sea sponges are also of important use in the wild. They play an important role in nutrient recycling and in filtering the water [ 5 ] which is useful for many of the reefs that they live in as clearer water makes sunlight more accessible for photosynthesizing organisms in the same area. [ 13 ]