Porifera Flashcards
What group of animals are sponges known as?
Invertebrates
What are some General Characteristics of the sponge?
They are heterotrophic and multicellular.
have a cellular level organization (no tissue layers).
most are asymmetrical and sessile.
What are sponges made up of?
Two cell layers. between these layers are a non-cellular region called the mesohyl.
How do sponges obtain food, oxygen and remove wastes?
Rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies.
What are Porocytes and whats their functions?
Tubular cells that span all three layers of the sponge.
They create a bridge through the mesohyl. Allows for movement of materials from outside through the cell and into the central cavity.
What are Choanocytes and what are their functions?
Cellular organisms that line the central cavity
They can filter particles out of the water into the central cavity, out through the osculum
What is the function of Pinacocytes?
Covers the outer surface of the sponge, are the “skin cells” of sponge.
Provide protection and aid maintaining sponges shape.
What are the Amoebocytes functions?
Deliver nutrients from choanocytes to other cells in the sponge.
Give rise to eggs for sexual reproduction.
Can differentiate into other cell types of the sponge.
What are the 2 types of skeletons found throughout the mesohyl?
Spicules - composed of either silica or calcium carbonate. produced by specialized amoebocyte
Spongin - soft elastic like protein produces by another specialized amoebocyte
What ways do sponges filter out organisms from the water?
Their choanocytes beat their flagellla, creating h2o current.
Food in the water is trapped in the mucus collar of cell.
Food is brought into the cell body of the collar cell by phagocytosis, creating a food vacuole.
How does digestion and transport work in sponges?
Food particles in the vacuole are digested via intracellular digestion (using lysosomes).
Nutrients are passed to amoebocytes in the mesohyl, they travel through the mesohyl transporting nutrient particles.
What is Elimination How does work in sponges?
Removal of solid, indigestible foods.
Water materials leave the cell body by exocytosis, into the central cavity.
Waste is swept out the osculum with the water current.
What is Exeretion and how does it work in sponges?
Removal of nitrogenous wastes (cellular wastes)
N-wastes exit the sponges cells by diffusion into surrounding water.
What is Respiration in the sponge ?
when O2 enters with water through pore cells. it then diffuses from h2o, across the cell membrane, and into the cells.
CO2 leaves the cell by diffuses into the h20, and out the osculum.
What is Sexual reproduction in the sponge?
Sperm and egg are produced by specialized amoebocytes.
Sperm is released into water current and exit via the osculum.
Sperm swims to another sponge and fertilizes into a zygote.
What are the types of Sexual species in Porfiera
Dioecious - have separate sexes
Hermaphrodites - produce both eggs and sperm
How do sponges asexually reproduce?
Fragmentation: piece of the adult breaks off and grows into a new identical sponge.
Budding: small bud grows on adult which breaks off into a new sponge.
Gemmules: Produced by some fresh water sponges and a few marine sponges when the environmental conditions are unfavourable
Response to stimulus
Porfiera have NO nervous system and cannot respond to stimuli.
What are the sponges motility
Adults are sessile (fixed to an object for their adult life)
Larvae are able to swim with cilia.
What are the sponges ecological importances?
Provides habitats for fish and invertebrates.
Provides food for animals and is an important food web link.
Provide camouflage for marine animals.
What are more ecological importances?
Involved in symbiotic relationships.
Help clean ocean floors.
Take up nutrients from the seawater leaving the expelled water essentially sterile.
