Optical fibres in an Antarctic sponge
Article Abstract:
The siliceous spicules of the Antarctic hexactinellid Rossella racovitzae were analyzed to determine if spicules allow light energy to reach the inside of the bodies of demosponges and hexactinellids. The results showed that the spicules can act as optical fibers and that larger light-capturing surfaces enhance the transmission of light. This ability to transfer light may be related to the survival of diatoms inside the sponge.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1996
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Electrical recording from a glass sponge
Article Abstract:
It has been possible to prove that propagated electrical impulses are responsible for coordinating the arrests of movements of the flagella in glass sponges. Researchers consistently recorded an electrical impulse before each arrest of the feeding current. It is suggested that the tissue which controls the conduction of the electrical activity is the trabecular syncytium, which forms 75% of the organic matter in the sponge.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1997
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Quartz dissolution by the sponge Chondrosia reniformis (Porifera, Demospongiae)
Article Abstract:
Analysis of the sponge Chondrosia reniformis showed that they etched and dissolved quartz, which leads to the erosion in calcareous coasts. The etched quartz are reduced to uniform sizes but other substances such as chalcedony and opal are left undisturbed. Thus, the sponge under study only dissolved quartz selectively. It was also found out that ascorbic acid played a big part in the dissolution process.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1995
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