Big Bank Shoals of the Timor Sea
An environmental resource atlas

FILTER-FEEDING ECOSYSTEMS

Biology and ecology of sponges

General biology

Sponges are sedentary, filter-feeding organisms which most commonly live on the sea floor attached to rock, shell, coral, algae and other hard surfaces (Figure 35). They compose the Phylum Porifera, and are relatively simple multicellular animals. They have no head, anterior end, mouth or gut cavity and the body is immobile. Each sponge is a loose aggregation of several types of cells, which do not form tissues. The cells are arranged to form an outer layer of covering cells and an inner layer of flagellated cells which move water through the animal (Figure 36, p65).

In spite of their simplicity, sponges have been extremely successful. They are widely distributed and are present in all types of aquatic environments, including fresh and salt water and ranging from intertidal waters to the deepest ocean trenches and from polar to tropical seas. However sponges are predominately found in the marine environment, with over 5000 species identified to date.

Structure
Reproduction
Ecology of sponges

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Last updated - 1 September 98

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