where sponges live

Sponges are some of the oldest multi-cellular organisms on the earth. According to the World Wildlife Fund's Treasures of the Sea website, the sponge fossil record dates back 600 million years. Sponges are often called the most primitive of animals because they lack the organs or tissues found in most animals. These highly specialized creatures are well-suited to their habitat, however.

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An adult sponge spends most of its time attached to a rock or partially buried in sediment. It feeds by filtering bacteria and other tiny food particles out of the water. Some sponges can filter thousands of times their own volume in water every day. There are about 8,000 species of sponges in the world living in many ocean regions, from the shallow waters around reefs to areas up to five-miles deep. Sponges can be found under overhangs and in caves, in open areas on rocky reefs or in soft ocean mud. Some sponges even live in freshwater lakes

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Sponges may reproduce both sexually and asexually. Species with asexual reproduction tend to bud, or produce gemmules--packets of cells inside a protective coating. Eventually, the buds or gemmules are released into the water as baby sponges. Sexually reproducing sponges broadcast sperm into the water. Female sponges catch the sperm and use it to fertilize their eggs. Once hatched or budded, juvenile sponges float in the water column for a few days. Eventually, they settle and act just like smaller versions of their parents.

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Sponges significantly affect the dynamics of their reef habitat. In addition to providing food for many different species, they can bore directly into some types of rock. They also have the ability to compete with other sponges by using potent chemicals within their flesh and simply growing over the other organism. Without sponges, many species of fish and aquatic animals would lack food and shelter and reefs would be significantly less diverse.

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Overharvesting sponges for the medical and personal care industries can do damage to the reefs and other areas where they live. Fortunately, sponges have the ability to grow back. When cut from their bases, as much as 71 percent of sponges grow back, according to the Florida Sea Grant. Slow growth rates, poaching and sponge disease can keep these creatures from replenishing properly, though. The 2010 Gulf oil spill also posed a threat to sponges, filling their habitat with tarry material that can choke their waterways

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taken from:ehow