Euplectella
Euplectella aspergillum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Porifera
Class: Hexactinellida
Order: Lyssacinosida
Family: Euplectellidae
Subfamily: Euplectellinae
Genus: Euplectella
Owen, 1841[1]
Type species
Euplectella aspergillum
Species

see text

Euplectella is a genus of glass sponges which includes the well-known Venus' Flower Basket. Glass sponges have a skeleton[2] made up of silica spicules that can form geometric patterns. These animals are most commonly found on muddy sea bottoms in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.[3] They are sessile organisms and do not move once attached to a rock.[4] They can be found at depths between 100 m and 1000 m but are most commonly found at depths greater than 500 m.[5]

Anatomy

The body shape of Euplectella is cylindrical and vase-like with a hole located at the top of the cylinder structure.[6] This tubular shape is referred to as asconoid.[7] The inner structure of this animal is covered by a layer of choanocytes. Euplectella is a member of the class Sclerospongiae or glass sponges.[8] These sponges are anchored to the seafloor by thousands of spicules. Spicules are long glassy fibers that are covered with recurved barbs. Spicules provide high beam strength support for anchoring and strengthening the structure of this animal.[9] The skeleton of this animal is made of silica that is arranged in cylindrical lattice patterns. These patterns enable flexibility and resilience to damage.[10]

This species often has a symbiotic relationship with shrimp.[11] One male and one female shrimp-like Stenopodidea breed and live inside the Venus Flower Basket, a member of the genus Euplectella[12]. Stenopodidea offspring leave through holes in the sponge. Eventually if Stenopodidea become too large, they become trapped in the basket for the remainder of their lifetime.[13] The pair of Stenopodidea that live inside Euplectella, clean it while the waste produced by Euplectella serves as food for the Stenopodidea.

Reproduction

There is very little known about the reproduction of this species. It can reproduce sexually and asexually. Sea sponges have hermaphroditic properties.[14] When conditions are unfavorable, sea sponges resort to asexual reproduction. This occurs through the presence of an ameobocyte on a deteriorating sponge. Once the deteriorating sponge is gone, the clump of cells remaining begins to grow a new sponge.[15] In sexual sea sponge reproduction, gametes are released into the water by male sponges and are absorbed through the inhalant current of the female sponge. Fertilization occurs when the sperm reaches the ovum. The zygote experiences radial holoblastic cleavage and eventually forms free flowing larvae which develop into new sponge.[16]

Diet

Euplectella are filter feeders.[17] Water is drawn into its central cavity through holes in the sides of the sponge. Organic debris and microscopic organisms are absorbed through this process.[18] They consume bacteria and small plankton.[19]

Life Stages

Euplectella experiences two main life stages: the larval stage or the adult stage. In the larval stage, the larvae is free flowing in the water. This type of larvae is considered trichimella due to its free swimming nature.[20] Eventually, the larvae attached to rocks and metamorphoses into sea sponge. In the adult stage, Euplectella are sessile and attached firmly to rocks through spicules.[21] It is unclear how long Euplectella generally live however other genus of glass sponge have been known to live up to 15,000 years in the wild.[22] Although the intricate skeleton of Euplectella provides some protection from predation, starfish are known to eat them.[23]

Species

References

  1. ↑ van Soest, R. (2014). Van Soest RW, Boury-Esnault N, Hooper JN, Rützler K, de Voogd NJ, de Glasby BA, Hajdu E, Pisera AB, Manconi R, Schoenberg C, Janussen D, Tabachnick KR, Klautau M, Picton B, Kelly M, Vacelet J (eds.). "Euplectella Owen, 1841". World Porifera database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  2. ↑ "Venus's flower basket | sponge | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  3. ↑ "Venus's flower basket | sponge | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  4. ↑ "Phylum Porifera | manoa.hawaii.edu/ExploringOurFluidEarth". manoa.hawaii.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  5. ↑ Soares, Beau McKenzie. "Euplectella aspergillum". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  6. ↑ Aizenberg, Joanna; Weaver, James C.; Thanawala, Monica S.; Sundar, Vikram C.; Morse, Daniel E.; Fratzl, Peter (2005). "Skeleton of Euplectella sp: Structural Hierarchy from the Nanoscale to the Macroscale". Science. 309 (5732): 275–278. Bibcode:2005Sci...309..275A. doi:10.1126/science.1112255. PMID 16002612. S2CID 23897499.
  7. ↑ "Welcome to CK-12 Foundation | CK-12 Foundation".
  8. ↑ Students, Keene State College; Biology, BIO 381 Tropical Marine. "Phylum Porifera". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ Monn, Michael A.; Weaver, James C.; Zhang, Tianyang; Aizenberg, Joanna; Kesari, Haneesh (2015-04-21). "New functional insights into the internal architecture of the laminated anchor spicules of Euplectella aspergillum". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (16): 4976–4981. Bibcode:2015PNAS..112.4976M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1415502112. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 4413295. PMID 25848003.
  10. ↑ Falcucci, Giacomo; Amati, Giorgio; Fanelli, Pierluigi; Krastev, Vesselin K.; Polverino, Giovanni; Porfiri, Maurizio; Succi, Sauro (July 2021). "Extreme flow simulations reveal skeletal adaptations of deep-sea sponges". Nature. 595 (7868): 537–541. arXiv:2305.10901. Bibcode:2021Natur.595..537F. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03658-1. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 34290424. S2CID 236176161.
  11. ↑ Xu, Peng; Zhou, Yadong; Wang, Chunsheng (2017). "A new species of deep-sea sponge-associated shrimp from the North-West Pacific (Decapoda, Stenopodidea, Spongicolidae)". ZooKeys (685): 1–14. Bibcode:2017ZooK..685....1X. doi:10.3897/zookeys.685.11341. ISSN 1313-2989. PMC 5646664. PMID 29089835.
  12. ↑ US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "What is a glass sponge?". oceanservice.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  13. ↑ US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "What is a glass sponge?". oceanservice.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  14. ↑ "Euplectella aspergillum". www.sealifebase.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  15. ↑ Soares, Beau McKenzie. "Euplectella aspergillum". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  16. ↑ W., R. B.; Bayer, F. M.; Owre, H. B. (April 1968). "The Free-Living Lower Invertebrates". Transactions of the American Microscopical Society. 87 (2): 273. doi:10.2307/3224459. ISSN 0003-0023. JSTOR 3224459.
  17. ↑ "CK12-Foundation". flexbooks.ck12.org. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  18. ↑ "Venus's flower basket | sponge | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  19. ↑ US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "What is a glass sponge?". oceanservice.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  20. ↑ "Euplectella aspergillum". www.sealifebase.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  21. ↑ "sponge - Natural history | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  22. ↑ "Hexactinellid sponge (Scolymastra joubini) longevity, ageing, and life history". genomics.senescence.info. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  23. ↑ US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "What is a glass sponge?". oceanservice.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-24.

Further reading

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