User:C.bellavance20/Venus' flower basket

Habitat

Venus' flower baskets are found in the western Pacific Ocean nearby the Philippine Islands. Other species of this genus occur throughout oceans around the world, including near Japan and in the Indian Ocean. While mostly found in the Pacific Ocean, scientists have also found this species in Perth Canyon, which is located in the Indian Ocean. (Ross 2015).

This sponge's habitat is on the rocky areas of the benthic seafloor, where it lives and grows connected to hard substrate for its entire life. It can be found from 100 m to 1000 m (330 ft to 3300 ft) below the ocean's surface, and is most common at depths greater than 500 m. More specifically, they tend to anchor in soft sediments due to the nature of their spicules.

Connecting habitat to morphology, this sponge can often be found inhabiting loose, muddy sediments, causing them to develop a structure that would aid them in staying rooted to the sea floor. (Ehrlich et al. 2007).

Classification and Morphology

Phylum: Porifera. Class: Hexactinellida. Synapomorphies: With six-rayed siliceous spicules; no well defined dermal layer. Subclass: Hexasterophora. Order: Eupectella. Synapomorphies: Contains hexasters, without amphidiscs. (Bayer et al. 1968).

Amphidiscs of different sponge species

E. aspergillum differs in having anchorate basalia with six teeth, and diactins. (Leys et al. 2007).

The skeleton of these sponges also contain silica nanoparticles among other biomaterials. (Ehrlich et al. 2007)

Up-Close image of Venus' Flower Basket

Hexasters; synapomorphy of the Venus' Flower Basket

Reproduction

As said in the introduction, little is known about reproduction. Sperm was found in one sample of E. aspergillum, within the connective tissue, and was described as aggregated clusters within very fine, thread-like appendages. (Schulze 1880). This would contribute to the idea of the species being hermaphroditic. While these sponges are sessile, the sperm can be carried by the current and the ova that a different organism retained can be fertilized. (Bayer 1968). It is also suggested that this species reproduces sexually, which can be deduced by the occurrence of their "internal recirculation patterns" (Amati et al. 2022).

Mutualistic relationship

The sponges are often found to house glass sponge shrimp, usually a breeding pair, who are typically unable to exit the sponge's lattice due to their size. Consequently, they live in and around these sponges, where the shrimp perform a mutualistic relationship with the sponge until they die. The shrimp live and mate in the shelter that the sponge provides, and in return they also clean the inside of the sponge. This relationship may have influenced the adoption of the sponge as a symbol of undying love in Japan, where the skeletons of these sponges are presented as wedding gifts. (Schmidt Ocean Institute 2022).

Ecology

While there is not much known about the ecology of these sponges, more research has been done on its class, Hexactinellid sponges. Hexactinellids in the Pacific ocean form reefs on the sea floor many of which are extinct now, but thrived in the Jurassic period. The role they play ecologically can be connected to their feeding of plankton in the deep sea, which produces carbon within their environments (Chu 2010). Besides this, they can house many animals that reside on the seafloor, including the shrimps mentioned in previous sections.

Ecosystem Role/Other Facts

In a study done with various glass sponges, Venus' Flower Basket was noted to be difficult to extract any further information because of how inaccessible it serves to be. However, when in contact with alkali, these sponges showed a high resistance, which then lead researchers to believe that they potentially contain biomaterials like chitin, that could serve as a structural component to this species. This study suggests that as long as E. aspergillum and similar species are natural composites containing valuable biomaterials, they could be important in biomedicine and future biotechnology. (Ehrlich et al. 2007).