The Life of a Sponge

Sponges, also known as poriferans, belong to the phylum Porifera. This type of animal is believed to date back to the late Precambrian period, about 500 million years ago, and today there are about 5,000 species of sponges, most of which live in salt water.

  1. Pores

    • Sponges containhave pores all over their bodies through which water flows in, providing oxygen and food. Water also is used as a means for eliminating waste products such as carbon dioxide.

    Anatomy

    • A sponge's body is made up of two layers of cells and a gel layer with either supportive needles or flexible skeletal material. Sponges are invertebrates that do not have tissues, organs or a nervous system. They also contain hair-like flagella, which are used to bring water into the sponges' pores. Most sponges' bodies are designed so that they remain in one spot throughout their adult lives. smaller sponges are beleive to live about a year, while larger sponges live anywhere between seven and 20 years.

    Diet

    • Sponges eat diets of mostly tiny organic materials floating in the water and plankton. They are filter feeders that use water to gather these foods into cells called choanocytes.

    Predators

    • Sponges are often used as shelter or food by other animals. Some of the animals that eat sponges are invertebrates, such as sea turtles, sea stars and nudibranchs.

    Sexual Reproduction

    • Many sponges are hermaphrodites and can act as either females or males in the reproduction process. Sponges reproduce when sperm from one sponge is released into the water and another sponge collects it into its choanocyte cells. The resulting larva is released into the water and uses cilia to move.

    Asexual Reproduction

    • Some sponges are asexual, so they reproduce when buds from their bodies break off and are moved by currents to another area. The bud will grow into a clone of the parent sponge.