| Aplysina cavernicola | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Demospongiae |
| Order: | Verongiida |
| Family: | Aplysinidae |
| Genus: | Aplysina |
| Species: | A. cavernicola |
| Binomial name | |
| Aplysina cavernicola (Vacelet, 1959) [1] | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Aplysina cavernicola is a species of sponge in the family Aplysinidae. It is native to the Mediterranean Sea where it grows in caves and under overhangs. [2]
Aplysina cavernicola forms clumps that may be up to 30 cm (12 in) across. It has a base that adheres to a rock or other hard surface, out of which project a number of finger-like processes up to 6 cm (2.4 in) long and 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter. The surface is sparsely covered with small conical protrusions, which are caused by the tips of horny fibres embedded in the tissues. There are no spicules, structural support being provided by a mesh of spongin fibres. Water is drawn in through pores known as ostia at the base of the sponge and ejected from the oscuili which are situated in slight depressions at the tips of the processes. The body colour is yellowish. [2]
This sponge is a hermaphrodite; ciliated larvae known as parenchymella larvae are released into the water and soon settle in a suitable location and undergo metamorphosis into juvenile sponges. [3]
This sponge accumulates brominated isoxazoline alkaloids in its tissues at concentrations of up to 10% of its dry body weight. By incorporating these biologically active compounds into experimental diets, it has been shown in feeding trials that they are distasteful to the sphinx blenny (Blennius sphinx), a polyphagous Mediterranean fish, while other sponges are readily eaten. Certain metabolic derivatives of these isoxazolines, such as dienone and aeroplysinin, are not distasteful to the fish, but may have anti-microbial properties that protect the sponge from bacterial pathogens. [4] This sponge also bioaccumulates radionuclides, and has been used as a model organism to study the presence of isotopes such as americium-241 in seawater. [5]
Sponges or sea sponges are members of the metazoan phylum Porifera, a basal animal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and are one of the most ancient members of macrobenthos, with many historical species being important reef-building organisms.
Filter feeders are aquatic animals that acquire nutrients by feeding on organic matters, food particles or smaller organisms suspended in water, typically by having the water pass over or through a specialized filtering organ that sieves out and/or traps solids. Filter feeders can play an important role in condensing biomass and removing excess nutrients from the local waterbody, and are therefore considered water-cleaning ecosystem engineers. They are also important in bioaccumulation and, as a result, as indicator organisms.
Agelas clathrodes, also known as the orange elephant ear sponge, is a species of sea sponge. It lives on reefs in the Caribbean, usually more than 10 metres (33 ft) below the surface of the ocean. It takes various forms, and its color is reddish orange.
Sponge reefs are reefs produced by sea sponges. All modern sponge reefs are formed by hexactinellid sponges, which have an endoskeleton made of silica spicules and are often referred to as "glass sponges", while historically the non-spiculed, calcite-skeletoned archaeocyathid and stromatoporoid sponges were the primary reef-builders.
Spicules are structural elements found in most sponges. The meshing of many spicules serves as the sponge's skeleton and thus it provides structural support and potentially defense against predators.
Ircinia strobilina is a species of sponge in the family Irciniidae. It is grey or shiny black in colour, with spiny structures (conules) dotting the surface. The spiny structures are interconnected by ridges, though not arranged in an orderly lattice. This species is globular and massive in shape, but usually no more than 0.3 metres (1 ft) across. I. strobilina is lobed and spherical and has a tough consistency. The large excurrent pores are located in depressions at the top of the sponge. Many smaller incurrent pores are scattered across the surface, more densely at the sides.
Spongia officinalis, better known as a variety of bath sponge, is a commercially used sea sponge. Individuals grow in large lobes with small openings and are formed by a mesh of primary and secondary fibers. It is light grey to black in color. It is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea up to 100 meters deep on rocky or sandy surfaces.
Myxilla incrustans is a species of demosponge. It is an encrusting species and is usually yellow.
Sea sponge aquaculture is the process of farming sea sponges under controlled conditions. It has been conducted in the world's oceans for centuries using a number of aquaculture techniques. There are many factors such as light, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen and the accumulation of waste products that influence the growth rate of sponges. The benefits of sea sponge aquaculture are realised as a result of its ease of establishment, minimum infrastructure requirements and the potential to be used as a source of income for populations living in developing countries. Sea sponges are produced on a commercial scale to be used as bath sponges or to extract biologically active compounds which are found in certain sponge species. Techniques such as the rope and mesh bag method are used to culture sponges independently or within an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system setting. One of the only true sustainable sea sponges cultivated in the world occur in the region of Micronesia, with a number of growing and production methods used to ensure and maintain the continued sustainability of these farmed species.
Aplysina insularis, commonly known as the yellow-green candle sponge or yellow candle sponge, is a species of sea sponge found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Agelas flabelliformis, also known as the elephant ear sponge, is a species of demosponge. It takes the form of a large leathery slender flap and is found in the Caribbean area at depths down to 100 metres (330 ft).
Oscarella carmela, commonly known as the slime sponge, is a species of sponge in the order Homosclerophorida that was first described in 2004 by G. Muricy and J.S. Pearse. It is believed to be native to intertidal waters in the north east temperate Pacific Ocean and was first found in seawater aquaria in that region. It is used as a model organism in evolutionary biology.
Cliona viridis, commonly called the green boring sponge, is a species of demosponge in the family Clionaidae. Its form varies according to the nature of the surface on which it grows. In limestone and other calcareous substrates it excavates channels and chambers while on other types of rock it encrusts the surface or forms massive structures. It is native to the eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indo-Pacific Ocean.
Oscarella lobularis is a species of sponge in the order Homosclerophorida. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, where it forms encrusting colonies on rocks and other hard surfaces.
Aplysina aerophoba is a species of sponge in the family Aplysinidae. It is a yellow, tube-forming or encrusting sponge and is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea; the type locality is the Adriatic Sea.
Jean Vacelet is a French marine biologist who specialises in the underwater fauna of the Mediterranean. After earning his licence at the Faculté des Sciences de Marseille and learning to dive in 1954, he specialised in the study of sponges at the Marine station of Endoume, and there he has stayed faithful to both sponges and place for more than half a century. His research has included all aspects of sponges: taxonomy, habitat, biology, anatomy, their bacterial associations, and their place in the evolution of multi-celled animals. He has studied them not only in the Mediterranean but in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. Exploration of underwater grottoes, together with Jacques Laborel and Jo Hamelin, revealed the existence of sponges dating from very ancient geological periods and the unexpected existence of carnivorous sponges, and surprisingly, the grottoes in some ways mimicked life at much greater depths.
Halisarca caerulea is a species of sponge in the family Halisarcidae. It is native to the Caribbean Sea and was first described in 1987 by the French marine biologists Jean Vacelet and Claude Donadey.
Polymastia penicillus is a species of sponge belonging to the family Polymastiidae. It is found in shallow water in the northeastern and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, growing on rocks in areas of high sedimentation.
Oopsacas minuta is a glass sponge that is a member of the Hexactinellida. Oopsacas minuta is found in submarine caves in the Mediterranean. It is reproductive year-round. This species is a part of a class that are usually bathyal and abyssal. Meaning they grow at a depth over 200 meters. At this depth the temperature is low and constant, so silica metabolism is optimized. However, this species has been observed in shallow water. O. minuta have only been observed by exploring caves that trap cold water. The shape of the sponge is elongated, cylindrical and a little flared. It is between a few millimeters and 3.5 centimeters. O. minuta are white are held up with a siliceous skeleton. The spicules of the skeleton intersect in an intricate network. These spindles partially block the top of the sponge. There are no obvious oscules. The sponge is anchored or suspended from the cave by silica fibers. This class of sponge is different from the three other classes of Porifera. It differs in tissue organization, ecology, development and physiology. O. minuta belongs to the order Lyssacinosida. Lyssacinosida are characterized by the parenchymal spicules mostly being unconnected; this is unlike other sponges in the subclass where the spicules form a connected skeleton. The genome of O. minuta are one of the smallest of all the animal genomes that have been sequenced so far. Its genome contains 24 noncoding genes and 14 protein-encoding genes. The spindles of O. minuta have three axes and six points. This species does not have pinacocytes, which are the cells that form the outer layer in other sponges. Instead of true choanocytes it has frill structures that bud from the syncytium.
Aplysina cauliformis, also known as the row pore rope sponge or rope sponge, is a species of sea sponge in the family Aplysinidae. It is commonly found in shallow reefs across the tropical Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. This sponge typically exhibits a brownish-pink or purple coloration and branches as parts of its morphology. It was first described by H.J. Carter in 1882 under the name Luffaria cauliformis.
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