![]() They pay a grisly price for this, though: Like the honeybees that. Sponges have very few predators, as most produce toxic chemicals and small splinters to defend themselves. Instead the scientists believe that the sponges stick their spicules into the ground and then slowly pull their bodies forward. The sponge can control how quickly the water moves by beating tiny internal hairs known as flagella. Finger sponges are tall tubes, and water enters through tiny channels at the bottom and leaves through a larger hole at the top. Sponges survive entirely on the movement of water through their bodies, from which they capture plankton and bacteria to eat, and absorb oxygen to breathe. Sponge gardens also provide habitat and hunting grounds for a variety of other marine animals. Groups of sponges form gardens which are a colourful and spectacular sight. Some sponges live on the sea floor, while others attach themselves to rocks with a special tissue that resembles tree roots. There is a wide diversity of different types of sponges around the world, and a number of different species in the Derwent estuary. Sponges are often confused with plants, but they are actually animals, but have no muscles, nerves or organs! Instead, they are made up of a combination of living cells and a stiff jelly-like substance known as ‘mesohyl’. Rocky reefs, kelp beds and inter-tidal zone Finger sponge Image: John Turnbull Community type ![]()
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