Spongia officinalis, better known as a variety of bath sponge, is a commercially used sea sponge.[2] Individuals grow in large lobes with small openings and are formed by a mesh of primary and secondary fibers.[3][2] It is light grey to black in color.[3] It is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea up to 100 meters deep on rocky or sandy surfaces.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
Humans use and interact with S. officinalis in a variety of ways. Harvested sponges have been used throughout history for many purposes, including washing and painting.[2]Over-harvesting and sponge disease have led to a decrease in population.[2][3][11]Sponge fishing practices have slowly changed over time as new technology has developed and sponge farming is now in use to decrease stress on wild S. officinalis populations.[3][11] Sponge farming is also recommended as a solution to reducing marine organic pollution, especially from fish farms.[3][2][12][13]
Anatomy and morphology
Spongia officinalis grows in massive, globular lobes with fine openings which are slightly elevated and have cone-shaped voids (conules).[3]Oscula can either be scattered or at the tip of the lobes.[2]
Spongia officinalis have an ectosomal skeleton composed of primary and secondary fibers. Together, they form the conulose openings.[2] The sponge also contains a choanosomal skeleton, which consists of a dense, irregular mesh of polygons formed by secondary fibers and primary fibers rise from it.[2] The primary fibers are 50 to 100 nanometers in diameter and are composed of spongin and inclusions such as sand grains and spicules. The secondary fibers are 20 to 35 nanometers in diameter and are composed of only spongin without inclusions.[2]
Spongia officinalis is light grey to black in color.[3]
Distribution and habitat
Spongia officinalis can be found in the Mediterranean Sea along the coasts of Croatia, Greece, the Aegean islands, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Italy, France and Spain.[2]
They are distributed in shallow water (1 to 10 meters below the surface) down to 100 meters deep.[2][3] They will grow on littoral rocky surfaces, sandy bottoms, and vertical walls in well-oxygenated water.[3]
Sexual reproduction is also common in S. officinalis.[8] Individuals can be dioecious, either male or female, or sequential hermaphrodites, meaning they can alternate between male and female.[8] Successive hermaphroditism can take place within one reproductive season.[8] Sperm is formed in spermatic cysts and is free spawned into the surrounding water.[8] Sperm is captured by females and is transported to oocytes within the sponge where fertilization takes place.[8] The occurrence of sexual reproduction peaks from October to November.[8] There is no relationship between age and reproductive ability in S. officinalis.[8]
Life cycle
After fertilization, S. officinalis embryos develop in choanosomal tissue of the female sponge.[8]Cleavage of cells begins after fertilization, around November, and is total and equal.[8] By May, a stereoblastula, or a blastula without a clear central cavity, forms.[8] From May to July, parenchymella larva, or larva which is a mass of cells enveloped in flagellated cells, develop.[8] These larvae are released from the adult from June to July.[8] Like all sponges, S. officinalis larvae are lecithotrophic, meaning they cannot feed as larva and instead rely on energy reserves provided by the mother.[10] Therefore, they only remain as a free-floating larva for a short period before settling on a benthic surface where they grow into an adult sponge.[10]
Taxonomy
Spongia officinalis was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1759.[14] The common names "bath sponge," "Fina Dalmata," and "Matapas" are usually used to refer to this species.[2]
The use of bath sponges for bathing and other purposes originated in Greece and spread all around Europe during the Middle Ages. From there, the use of sponges spread further, with Mediterranean bath sponges currently being shipped globally.[2]S. officinalis was used by humans in many ways in the past. Aside from using the sponge for washing, some of these uses included padding in Roman soldiers helmets, as absorbent material during surgeries, as medicine to help digestive issues, and as a primitive "contraceptive sponge". Today, sponges are still used for washing and are also used for recreational purposes, like sponge painting.[2]
Sponge fishing in the Mediterranean has been in practice since ancient times. Aristotle even wrote of it around 350 BC.[2] Traditionally, sponge fishing was practiced by Greeks who dove underwater to collect specimens.[2] The practice remained this way until the late 19th century.[2] There was a small increase in sponge fishing at the end of the 19th century due to the invention of a new diving suit, but the suit was not very safe so sponge fishing did not grow much in popularity. Around 1910 to 1930, an underwater breathing device was created and, since then, this method of sponge fishing has continually grown in popularity.[2]
Sponges can also be collected after they wash up on beaches or they can be fished from a boat.[2]
As S. officinalis populations declined due to over-harvest, as discussed below, interest in cultivation increased.[2][11] Towards the end of the 19th century, the first sponge farming attempts were made in the Mediterranean Sea by fixing sponge fragments onto wooden boxes and setting them into suitable habitats. Although the efforts were successful, sponge farming activity did not increase significantly until the end of the 20th century and currently, it is performed worldwide.[2]
Sponge farming not only decreases stress on S. officinalis populations, it also can be used as a sustainable method to reduce marine organic pollution because, sponges being filter feeders, they efficiently remove organic suspended particles from water.[2][3][11] For this reason, sponge cultivation in combination with fish farming has been recommended as a method to reduce organic pollution from fish farms.[2][3][12][13]
A Spongia officinalis specimen.
Conservation status
Over-harvesting and sponge disease have led to a decrease in Mediterranean S. officinalispopulations.[2][3][11] People have harvested sponges in the Mediterranean since ancient times.[3] Growing demand has led to overexploitation of these sponges. Beginning in the 1980s, populations of S. officinalis in the Mediterranean have significantly declined.[3] In addition to this, a sponge disease caused by pathogenic bacteria and fungi has further reduced populations.[3] The bacteria and fungi destroy tissues and fibers of the sponges, making them weak.[3] Due to the regenerative abilities of these sponges, they are able to set aside infected tissue and recover.[3] But, when the effects of the disease are compounded by the effects of over-harvesting, populations have struggled to recover and local extinctions have occurred.[2][3]
Related Research Articles
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera, are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells.
Demosponges (Demospongiae) are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include greater than 90% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide. They are sponges with a soft body that covers a hard, often massive skeleton made of calcium carbonate, either aragonite or calcite. They are predominantly leuconoid in structure. Their "skeletons" are made of spicules consisting of fibers of the protein spongin, the mineral silica, or both. Where spicules of silica are present, they have a different shape from those in the otherwise similar glass sponges. Some species, in particular from the Antarctic, obtain the silica for spicule building from the ingestion of siliceous diatoms.
Spongia is a genus of marine sponges in the family Spongiidae, originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1759, containing more than 60 species. Some species, including Spongia officinalis, are used as cleaning tools, but have mostly been replaced in that use by synthetic or plant material.
Homosclerophorida is an order of marine sponges. It is the only order in the monotypic class Homoscleromorpha. The order is composed of two families: Plakinidae and Oscarellidae.
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.
Pseudospongosorites is a genus of sea sponges belonging to the family Suberitidae. Currently, the genus is considered as monotypic, consisting of a single species Pseudospongosorites suberitoides. It is found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and on the Atlantic coast of the United States as far north as North Carolina. This species is known by the common name Florida hermit crab sponge, so named because hermit crabs often use it as shelter.
Spongilla lacustris is a species of freshwater sponge from the family Spongillidae. It inhabits freshwater rivers and lakes, often growing under logs or rocks. Lacustris is a Latin word meaning "related to or associated with lakes". The species ranges from North America to Europe and Asia. It is the most common freshwater sponge in central Europe. It is the most widespread sponge in Northern Britain, and is one of the most common species of sponges in lakes and canals. Spongilla lacustris have the ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually. They become dormant during winter. The growth form ranges from encrusting, to digitate, to branched, depending upon the quality of the habitat.
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.
Homaxinella balfourensis is a species of sea sponge in the family Suberitidae. It is found in the seas around Antarctica and can grow in two forms, either branching out in one plane like a fan or forming an upright club-like structure.
Dysidea arenaria is a species of marine sponge (poriferan) found in the Pacific Ocean. It is a member of the order Dictyoceratida, one of two sponge orders that make up the keratose or "horny" sponges in which a mineral skeleton is absent and a skeleton of organic fibers is present instead.
Thorectidae is a family of sea sponges in the order Dictyoceratida.
Anheteromeyenia is a genus of freshwater sponge. It has been recorded in the Nearctic, the Neotropics. This taxon was initially a subgenus of Heteromeyenia when K. Schöder circumscribed it in 1927, but W. M. de Laubenfels made it a genus in its own right in 1936.
Hippospongia communis also known as the honeycomb bath sponge, is a marine sponge in the phylum Porifera.
Dragmacidon australe is a species of sponge in the family, Axinellidae.
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.
Phyllis Jane Fromont is a New Zealand and Australian scientist specialising in sponges.
Robertus Wilhelmus Maria (Rob) van Soest, born in 1946, is a Dutch marine biologist. He works at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center and is also affiliated with the University of Amsterdam. He co-authored with John N. A. Hooper Systema Porifera: A Guide to the Classification of Sponges, a standard reference for sponge classification.
References
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Baldacconi, Rossella, et al. "Transplantation of Spongia officinalis L.(Porifera, Demospongiae): a technical approach for restocking this endangered species." Marine Ecology 31.2 (2010): 309-317.
Cook, S.D.C., and P.R. Bergquist. “Family Spongiidae Gray.” 1867: 1051-1060. In Hooper, J. N. A. and R. W. M. Van Soest. (ed.) “Systema Porifera. A guide to the classification of sponges. 1 (Kluwer Academic/ Plenum Publishers: New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow).” 2002.
De Laubenfels, Max Walker. "Guide to the sponges of eastern North America." (1953).
Díaz, Humberto, and Marina Bevilacqua. Esponjas en manglares del Parque Nacional Morrocoy. Fondo Editorial Acta Científico Venezolana, 1985.
Esponjas (Esponjas de baño). Pp: 111. 1980: En; Diccionario Monográfico del Reino Animal. Biblograf, S.A. España.
Gaino, Elda, et al. "Mortality of commercial sponges: incidence in two Mediterranean areas." Italian Journal of Zoology 59.1 (1992): 79-85.
Gifford, Scott, et al. "Aquatic zooremediation: deploying animals to remediate contaminated aquatic environments." TRENDS in Biotechnology 25.2 (2007): 60-65.
Linné, Carl von. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae: secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Vol. 1, pt. 7. Lugduni: Apud JB Delamolliere, 1789.
Pronzato, Roberto, and Renata Manconi. "Mediterranean commercial sponges: over 5000 years of natural history and cultural heritage." Marine Ecology 29.2 (2008): 146-166.
Pronzato, Roberto. "Sponge‐fishing, disease and farming in the Mediterranean Sea." Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 9.5 (1999): 485-493.
Riesgo, Ana, et al. "Some like it fat: comparative ultrastructure of the embryo in two Demosponges of the Genus Mycale (Order Poecilosclerida) from Antarctica and the Caribbean." PLOS ONE 10.3 (2015).
Rützler, Klaus, Rob WM van Soest, and Carla Piantoni. "Sponges (Porifera) of the Gulf of Mexico." Gulf of Mexico Origins, Waters, and Biota 1 (2009): 285-313.
Stabili, Loredana, et al. "Filtering activity of Spongia officinalis var. adriatica (Schmidt)(Porifera, Demospongiae) on bacterioplankton: implications for bioremediation of polluted seawater." Water research 40.16 (2006): 3083-3090.
↑ Linnaeus, C. 1759: Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus II. Editio decima, reformata. - pp. [1-4], 825-1384. Holmiæ. (L. Salvii).
↑ Cook, S.D.C., & Bergquist, P.R. 2002: Family Spongiidae Gray, 1867. Pp. 1051-1060. In Hooper, J. N. A. & Van Soest, R. W. M. (ed.) Systema Porifera. A guide to the classification of sponges. 1 (Kluwer Academic/ Plenum Publishers: New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow).
↑ Rützler, K., R. W. M. van Soest. & C. Piantoni. 2009: Sponges (Porifera) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 285–313 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
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