20-Mar-2025
Thriving #Antarctic #ecosystems found in wake of recently detached #iceberg
Scientists explore a #seafloor area newly exposed by iceberg A-84; discover vibrant communities of ancient #sponges and #corals.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1077611 #science #ecology #environment

Thriving Antarctic Ecosystems Found in Wake of Recently Detached Iceberg https://schmidtocean.org/thriving-antarctic-ecosystems-found-in-wake-of-recently-detached-iceberg/

"team on board #SchmidtOceanInstitute’s R/V Falkor (too) rapidly pivoted their research plans to study an area that was, until last month, covered by ice... they observed the #DeepSea for 8 days and found flourishing ecosystems at depths as great as 1300m. Their observations include large #corals and #sponges supporting an array of animal life, including #icefish, giant #SeaSpiders, and #octopus"

It's #SpongeSunday! The cavities in the body of this long-stalked #Caulophacus #sponge give this resident white #squatlobster (#Munidopsis sp.) a room with a view, as well as protection from potential predators.

@EVNautilus #lobsters #sponges #marineanimals

19-Feb-2025
University of Hawai’i researchers discover 10 new sponge species in Kāneʻohe Bay

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1074322 #science #ecology #newSpecies #MarineBiology #sponges #Pacific #Hawaii

#SpongeSunday: Some #glasssponges, such as this 2-meter-tall #Caulophacus, grow long, flexible stalks to reach higher in the water column for #filterfeeding. Some sponges are thought to be hundreds or even thousands of years old!

@EVNautilus #Sponges #marineanimals #ocean

The Borealis Mud Volcano: A hidden sanctuary for marine biodiversity https://phys.org/news/2025-01-borealis-mud-volcano-hidden-sanctuary.html

Sanctuary for vulnerable #Arctic species at the Borealis Mud Volcano: Giuliana Panieri et al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-55712-x

"the carbonate crusts that characterized Borealis provide a suitably hard substrate for species of #anemones, #serpulids, #demosponges, and sparse #octocorals."

#Corals (and #Sponges)
Plate V from The World of the Sea
(London, 1869)
Via Biodiversity Heritage Library :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/51236626883/in/album-72157719441825715

Scientists film marine creatures under sea ice in East Antarctica
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-14/scientists-film-sealife-under-bunger-hills-east-antarctica/104811258

"Plunging to depths of up to 50m, the drone captures an array of colour and life. Red #SeaUrchins can be seen clinging to boulders covered in pink #algae. Orange #SeaCucumbers with small white tentacles are lying on the floor. #Jellyfish are floating above large yellow #sponges far below. Every now and again, schools of splotchy grey-and-white #fish surround the drone and try to nibble its camera."

A rare find https://gazette.mun.ca/research/a-rare-find/

"Researchers discovered a densely populated soft #coral garden northeast of #FogoIsland, N.L., during a science and student training expedition in late June... Located in a complex rocky habitat, early estimates suggest the coral garden spans about 10,000 square metres of the sea floor within the Funk Island Deep marine refuge off #NewfoundlandAndLabrador... The diverse marine life includes #anemones, #sponges, basket stars and many soft #corals."

Distraction of the day, much needed and welcome: Choanoflagellates, and discoveries about how they can group/cluster, enclosing bacteria, for unknown purposes.

http://news.berkeley.edu/2024/08/22/creature-the-size-of-a-dust-grain-found-hiding-in-californias-mono-lake/
#research #biology #UCBerkeley #evolution #sponges

Also, less recent, also on choanoflagellates : precursors of neurons:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128283-800-your-brain-chemistry-existed-before-animals-did/

#Sponges' #symbiosis with #bacteria helps them store toxic #molybdenum to keep predators away
https://phys.org/news/2024-08-sponges-symbiosis-bacteria-toxic-molybdenum.html

Out of the blue: Hyperaccumulation of molybdenum in the Indo-Pacific sponge Theonella conica https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adn3923

"Entotheonella serves as a detoxifying organ for accumulating metals inside the body of its #sponge hosts. Hoarding more and more molybdenum, the bacteria convert it from its toxic soluble state into a mineral."

Remarkable marine animal forests found around #Wellington's coast in central #NewZealand https://phys.org/news/2024-09-remarkable-marine-animal-forests-wellington.html

Ecologically significant shallow-water (0–30 m) marine animal forests in central New Zealand https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424003445

"#MarineAnimalForests are habitats formed by big groups of #invertebrates—creatures such as #sponges, horse #mussels, and #brachiopods, which look a bit like #clams. These remarkable communities are increasingly being recognized as #biodiversity hotspots"

In the dark #ocean, these tiny creatures can smell their way home https://www.science.org/content/article/dark-ocean-these-tiny-creatures-can-smell-their-way-home

Circadian migrations of cave-dwelling #crustaceans guided by their home chemical seascape: Marie Derrien et al. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1448616/full

"Although it’s not clear exactly what gives each #cave its unique smell, the researchers hypothesize that compounds released by #sponges that live in the #caves are playing a role."

I love seeing a new-to-me species! While they look like anemones, they are actually sponge zoanthids and they completely covered the exterior of this pink vase sponge. Like their relatives the corals and jellies, they use their sticky tentacles to grab stuff out of the water column as it passes by. Very cool!

A throw-back to earlier days in #Florida, here is a photo of a line of baskets filled with natural #sponges, taken in the city of #TarponSprings. Known for it's wonderful Greek food, it still maintains a dock that is a throwback to the Greek sponge-diving in the early 1900's.

Visited here many times, stayed near the beach down the coast, came for lunch (and pastries!) and loaded up on sponges.

The climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis are intertwined. We need to urgently reduce emissions AND protect vulnerable ecosystems to prevent more things like these from happening.

#climateDiary #sponges #ocean #aotearoa

Mass bleaching of NZ marine sponges largest ever recorded globally
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/524348/mass-bleaching-of-nz-marine-sponges-largest-ever-recorded-globally

Going deeper for healthy offshore reefs in Storm Bay https://phys.org/news/2024-07-deeper-healthy-offshore-reefs-storm.html

#Scientists have used high-tech underwater #robots to take a closer look at the deep offshore reefs on the east coast of Bruny Island in #Tasmania and have revealed the seabed #biodiversity there for the first time... #seaweed cover dominates the shallower depths of these reefs, and #sponges, #corals, and other seabed #animals are more prevalent below 40 meters.

'Missing' sea #sponges discovered https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/missing-sea-sponges-discovered

A late-#Ediacaran crown-group sponge animal https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07520-y

"No problem dating them back 700 million years. Yet convincing sponge #fossils only go back about 540 million years, leaving a 160-million-year gap in the fossil record... now researchers have reported a 550-million-year-old sea sponge from the 'lost years' and proposed that the earliest sea sponges had not yet developed mineral skeletons"

Today is day 16 of #30DaysWild. During #hedgewatch my humans found #flintstone/#flint/#Feuerstein Pawesome Flint is made of #quartz & forms often in #chalk. The silica is probably from the skeleton of #sponges. The exact formation isn't clear yet
#PawForScale

#geologywithcats #geology #CatsOfMastodon #