Sperm is directed into the sponge wall where the egg is located (C). A sponge acting as “female” (B) receive sperm through their pores. Hermaphroditic sponges acting as “male” (A) release sperm into the water. The life cycle of a sexually reproducing sponge. Like in sexual reproduction, this small piece of the sponge must find a substrate to cling to in order to grow into an adult sponge (Myers, 2001).įigure 1. This occurs when a small piece of the sponge is broken off and is able to grow into a whole new sponge. When sponges go through asexual reproduction, it is by a system called budding. The sexual life cycle is depicted below in Figure 1. Sponges become more diverse when different sponge species reproduce with one another (Myers, 2001). At this point, the larvae will begin to grow into an adult sponge. The larvae floats around for several days until it can find a suitable substrate to stick to. After fertilization occurs, a larvae is released from the female sponge into the water. The male sponge releases sperm into the water which travels towards and enters the female sponge. When it comes to sexual reproduction, a sponge can play either role. There are many sponge species in which each sponge is considered male and female. Sponges can reproduce sexually and asexually. The life cycle of a sponge is a relatively simple one.
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