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Sponges Are Diverse

There are 7,000 namedspecies of sponges.

Sponge biologists estimatethat nearly 15,000 species of

.

There are probably 8,000species yet to be discoveredan escri e .

We have already found 6 new

del Toro.


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Sponges Are Useful

Winslow Homer Sponge Fishing, Nassau: 1885

Historically, sponges were used byRoman soldiers to drink and to

.

Today, over 60,000 lbs of spongesare harvested annually in Florida The species Spongia pertusa, found

in ocas del Toro are used to makeor e a n us ry.

bath sponges.

Sponge package photo from: www.kidslandusa.com


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S on es Clean the Oceans

S on es can tra 90 ercent of all bacteria in the water the filter.

Sponges can pump 10,000 times their own size (volume) in water in one day.

A s on e the size of a allon milk container could um and clean enou h

water to fill a residential swimming pool in one day.

In the Caribbean Sea, sponges might be able to filter all of the water in oneda .


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Algae living inside some sponges provide

.

Without sunlight, these sponges would die.

We have described two new species ofphotosynthetic sponges from Bocas del Toro.

Symbiotic blue-green algae

10 um

Haliclona (Soestella) walentinaeHaliclona (Soestella) walentinaeXestospongia bocatorensisXestospongia bocatorensis


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S on es Hel Fi ht CancerSponges use chemicals to prevent

them.

These chemicals can preventcancer cells from growing.

One of the first drugs forTectitethya keyensisat Bocas del Toro ,arabinoside, was isolated from thesponge Tectitethya crypta.

s rug s use to ay nchemotherapy to treat leukemia.


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Other Sponge FactsWithin a single sponge, it is possible to

, .

shrimps and amphipods are particularlycommon in sponges.

destroy their skeletons.


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Sponge Biologists are Needed

We are training a

sponge biologistsat Bocas del Toro.

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