Bath sponge
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.
Spongia officinalis can reproduce both asexually, through budding or fragmentation, or sexually. Individuals can be dioecious or sequential hermaphrodites. The free-swimming larvae are lecithotrophic and grow slowly after attaching to a benthic surface.
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. Over-harvesting and sponge disease have led to a decrease in population. 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. Sponge farming is also recommended as a solution to reducing marine organic pollution, especially from fish farms.
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Filter feederOm
OmnivoreAn omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
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SedentarySedentary animals lead such a type of lifestyle in which little to or no physical activity is done. These are mostly marine bottom-dwelling animals...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withSpongia officinalis grows in massive, globular lobes with fine openings which are slightly elevated and have cone-shaped voids (conules). Oscula can either be scattered or at the tip of the lobes.
Spongia officinalis have an ectosomal skeleton composed of primary and secondary fibers. Together, they form the conulose openings. 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. 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.
Spongia officinalis is light grey to black in color.
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.
They are distributed in shallow water (1 to 10 meters below the surface) down to 100 meters deep. They will grow on littoral rocky surfaces, sandy bottoms, and vertical walls in well-oxygenated water.
Spongia officinalis can reproduce asexually via budding or fragmentation.
Sexual reproduction is also common in S. officinalis. Individuals can be dioecious, either male or female, or sequential hermaphrodites, meaning they can alternate between male and female. Successive hermaphroditism can take place within one reproductive season. Sperm is formed in spermatic cysts and is free spawned into the surrounding water. Sperm is captured by females and is transported to oocytes within the sponge where fertilization takes place. The occurrence of sexual reproduction peaks from October to November. There is no relationship between age and reproductive ability in S. officinalis.
After fertilization, S. officinalis embryos develop in choanosomal tissue of the female sponge. Cleavage of cells begins after fertilization, around November, and is total and equal. By May, a stereoblastula, or a blastula without a clear central cavity, forms. From May to July, parenchymella larva, or larva which is a mass of cells enveloped in flagellated cells, develop. These larvae are released from the adult from June to July. Like all sponges, S. officinalis larvae are lecithotrophic, meaning they cannot feed as larva and instead rely on energy reserves provided by the mother. 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.
Over-harvesting and sponge disease have led to a decrease in Mediterranean S. officinalis populations. People have harvested sponges in the Mediterranean since ancient times. Growing demand has led to overexploitation of these sponges. Beginning in the 1980s, populations of S. officinalis in the Mediterranean have significantly declined. In addition to this, a sponge disease caused by pathogenic bacteria and fungi has further reduced populations. The bacteria and fungi destroy tissues and fibers of the sponges, making them weak. Due to the regenerative abilities of these sponges, they are able to set aside infected tissue and recover. 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.
