Porifera

= =  Porifera        **By Belem, Tom, and Andrea ** =**Porifera**=  The phylum Porifera, commonly referred to as sponges, have approximately 10,000 different sponges. One kind of sponges are pumpkin sponges, their habitat are reefs, sand and muddy bottoms. You can find them in 2-15 m deep in the water. Their maximum size is 300mm diameter and feed off of plankton. Another kind are Rosea sponges, their habitat are reefs and 3-22 deep in the water. The maximum size length is 400 mm. Majority of the sponges live in reefs where there's a lot plankton. A yellow tube sponge that grows on flat sand at East Chute. They pump out yellow vegetable dye. Another example of a porifera is Sycon, which is a small sponge that grow up to 5 cm. They belong to the Sycettidae family. = = =**Characteristics** =  The main characteristics of the animal in the phylum Porifera, is that they have no symmetry and no organs. These animals are filter feeders and sessile, which means that it stays in one place its entire life. Another main characteristics is that instead of having skeleton, its provided by spicules. Another characteristics of porifera is that they are both asexual, sexual and feed through pores on their outer walls. They also have different cells that perform different functions. Each sponge has pores that allows the water to enter and leave their body. One last characteristic that a sponge has is that they do not have a body cavity so they are called Acoelomates. =**Classes**= The classes underneath phylum Porifera are Hexactinellida (glass sponges), the Sclerospongiae, the Demospondiae and the Clacarea (clacareous sponges). The class Calcarea are sponges that have spicules composed of calcium carbonate. These sponges are found in the shallow area in tropical water. The Hexactinellida are deep sea sponges and their skeletons are composed of spicules of silica. They are commonly called the glass sponges and they are pale and have a cup or basket shaped. The Demospongiae are the largest class because most of the sponges belong to it. These sponges have a skeleton made up of silicon that has spicules or spongin fibers or both. The other class is Sclerospongiae and these sponges have a skeleton from calcium carbonate, silica and spongin. These sponges are the Corallines which are know from fossils. =**Successful**= Sponges are evolutionary successful because they have been living in the waters of the world for more then 600 million years. Because of that this they can be found in all marine and many freshwater habitats. They are also successful because they can grow in rivers, streams, rocks pools to deep ocean depths, in the frozen arctic seas and to the warm tropical seas. One more reason on way sponges are evolutionary successful is because there are about 10,000 different types of them around the world. Citation "Sponges - Phylum Proifera." <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">//<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Www.woodbridge.tased.edu.au // <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">. Web. <http://www.woodbridge.tased.edu.au/mdc/Species%20Register/phylum_porifera.htm>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">"Sponge." <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">//<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia // <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">. Web. 23 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponge>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Abboud, Peter. "Zoology." <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">//<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Zoology // <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">. Print. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">"Animal Phyla." <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">//<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">WAYNE'S WORD // <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">. Web. 23 May 2011. <http://waynesword.palomar.edu/trnov01.htm>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">"Introduction to Porifera." <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">//<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Www.ucmp.berkeley.edu // <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">. Web. <http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/porifera/porifera.html>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">"The Sponges (Phylum Porifera)." <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">//<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The Earth Life Web // <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">. Web. 23 May 2011. <http://www.earthlife.net/inverts/porifera.html>. = = = =