I hope everyone had another amazing weekend! Believe it or not I am actually excited to get back to work this week since I feel like it will be a great week. Not only that but I have a few ideas for animals that will make Wild Facts extra spectacular this week. We are going to start where we left off last week, in the ocean. I know it seems like we have been swimming around a lot lately but there are just so many cool animals to see in the deep blue ocean. We can take our time today since we will be learning about the very slow moving Sponge. That’s right the sponge is actually an animal and not just something you use to clean the bathroom.
The slow moving Sponge can be found all across the ocean floor. I say they are slow moving since the majority of Sponges move less than a millimeter a day. In some species they are sessile which means they are actually attached to something and don’t bother moving at all. If you are only going to move a millimeter a day then why even bother, right? I guess we can make fun of these animals all we want but they are obviously doing something right since it is believed they have been around for about 500 million years. If your bathroom sponge is this old then I highly recommend throwing it out and starting fresh with a new one.
Sponges are interesting animals since they have no organs and are basically comprised of a jelly-like substance, which is supported by a thin membrane on either side. This jelly-like body will have thousands of pores which allows the water to efficiently flow through them. This is important since most Sponges derive all of their nutrients from this flowing water. Basically, they pluck out the bacteria and phytoplankton from the water column. Some of the more interesting Sponges will actually feast on small fish, crustaceans and other small animals. I would be a little freaked out if I came home one day and saw the bathroom sponge trying to eat my goldfish. For the record, I don’t have a goldfish or a bathroom sponge for that matter.
Unfortunately for the slow-moving or sessile Sponge they really have no escape mechanism from predators. As such they are feasted on by crustaceans, fish and sea turtles among other ocean animals. They rely on their effective reproductive capabilities to keep their population high. So even though they can’t defend themselves there are still plenty of Sponges left in this world.
Well that does it for Monday’s version of Wild Facts. Make sure you are back here tomorrow for a new fact. Make sure you bring a towel and a change of clothes for tomorrow since we will be heading back to dry land.
Have a great day!
