Sea sponges are primarily found in saltwater environments. Some freshwater variations do exist, but a large proportion is sea-based. Many coral reefs contain a variety of sponges, as they can help with cleaning, filtering, and improving water quality. They also are utilized by other animal species. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Bergquist PR (2001). "Porifera (Sponges)". Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0001582. ISBN 978-0-470-01617-6. Many objects with sponge-like textures are now made of substances not derived from poriferans. Synthetic sponges include personal and household cleaning tools, breast implants, [129] and contraceptive sponges. [130] Typical materials used are cellulose foam, polyurethane foam, and less frequently, silicone foam.

a b Hooper, John (2018). "Structure of Sponges". Queensland Museum. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019 . Retrieved 27 September 2019. a b Webster NS, Thomas T (April 2016). "The Sponge Hologenome". mBio. 7 (2): e00135-16. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00135-16. PMC 4850255. PMID 27103626. a b Simion P, Philippe H, Baurain D, Jager M, Richter DJ, Di Franco A, etal. (April 2017). "A Large and Consistent Phylogenomic Dataset Supports Sponges as the Sister Group to All Other Animals" (PDF). Current Biology. 27 (7): 958–967. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.031. PMID 28318975.Freshwater sponges appear to be much younger, as the earliest known fossils date from the Mid- Eocene period about 48to40 million years ago. [98] Although about 90% of modern sponges are demosponges, fossilized remains of this type are less common than those of other types because their skeletons are composed of relatively soft spongin that does not fossilize well. [102]

Different species of sponges require different types of care. Many have very specific needs for salinity, pH, temperature, and more. As a species that appears in many oceanic environments, it is no surprise that sea sponges have many threats to contend with. There are predators that prey on the sea sponge, and also environmental threats to them too. a b Gifford, Scott; Dunstan, R. Hugh; O’Connor, Wayne; Koller, Claudia E.; MacFarlane, Geoff R. (2007-02-01). "Aquatic zooremediation: deploying animals to remediate contaminated aquatic environments". Trends in Biotechnology. 25 (2): 60–65. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2006.12.002. ISSN 0167-7799. PMID 17173992.a b Exposito JY, Cluzel C, Garrone R, Lethias C (November 2002). "Evolution of collagens". The Anatomical Record. 268 (3): 302–16. doi: 10.1002/ar.10162. PMID 12382326.

Egan S, Thomas T (2015). "Editorial for: Microbial symbiosis of marine sessile hosts- diversity and function". Frontiers in Microbiology. 6: 585. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00585. PMC 4468920. PMID 26136729. Sponges were traditionally distributed in three classes: calcareous sponges (Calcarea), glass sponges (Hexactinellida) and demosponges (Demospongiae). However, studies have shown that the Homoscleromorpha, a group thought to belong to the Demospongiae, is actually phylogenetically well separated. [92] Therefore, they have recently been recognized as the fourth class of sponges. [93] [94] a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004, pp.76–97a b c Vacelet J, Boury-Esnault N (1995). "Carnivorous sponges". Nature. 373 (6512): 333–335. Bibcode: 1995Natur.373..333V. doi: 10.1038/373333a0. S2CID 4320216. Whelan NV, Kocot KM, Moroz LL, Halanych KM (May 2015). "Error, signal, and the placement of Ctenophora sister to all other animals". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 112 (18): 5773–8. Bibcode: 2015PNAS..112.5773W. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1503453112. PMC 4426464. PMID 25902535.

However, it is not always bad news for the sea sponge. They have some defense systems in place to fend off many organisms. Many of these organisms use the sponge to grow and feed on, trying to form a symbiotic relationship. When it isn’t in the best interest of the sponge, however, they release toxins to stop echinoderms and bryozoans from living on them. Vinn O, Wilson MA, Toom U, Mõtus MA (2015). "Earliest known rugosan-stromatoporoid symbiosis from the Llandovery of Estonia (Baltica)". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 31: 1–5. Bibcode: 2015PPP...431....1V. doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.04.023 . Retrieved 2015-06-18. de Goeij JM, van Oevelen D, Vermeij MJA, Osinga R, Middelburg JJ, de Goeij AFPM and Admiraal W (2013) "Surviving in a marine desert: the sponge loop retains resources within coral reefs". Science, 342: 108−110.

Behavior of the Sea Sponge

Gifford, Scott, et al. "Aquatic zooremediation: deploying animals to remediate contaminated aquatic environments." TRENDS in Biotechnology 25.2 (2007): 60-65. Pita, L., Rix, L., Slaby, B.M., Franke, A. and Hentschel, U. (2018) "The sponge holobiont in a changing ocean: from microbes to ecosystems". Microbiome, 6(1): 46. doi: 10.1186/s40168-018-0428-1. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Bergquist PR (1998). "Porifera". In Anderson DT (ed.). Invertebrate Zoology. Oxford University Press. pp.10–27. ISBN 978-0-19-551368-4.