do sponges live solitary or partnering?
83020
Actually, sponges are mostly colonial. They belong to Pylum Porifera and are almost exclusively marine.  Many smaller individuals group together and partner to form the structures you see and function as a unit. There are species which are solitary. Solitary sponges and colonies range in diameter from about 1/2 in. to 5 ft (1–150 cm) and vary greatly in shape. Some are branched, some more or less globular, and some are thin encrustations on rocks and pilings.\nPoriferans  are one of the simplest multi-cellular animals. 98% of this phylum consists of marine species. They have a cellular level of organization, without any organs or tissues. Sponges consist of several different cell types, each specialized for a different purpose and all working independently of one another. Canals run throughout the body of the sponge, cycling through water for feeding, gamete dispersal, waste disposal, and gas exchange. Colonial sponges often have many small ostia (inflow; sing. ostium) and share one large osculum (outflow; pl. oscula). Structure is present in the form of calcium carbonate or silica spicules embedded in a gelatinous mesohyl layer. Also embedded in the mesohyl are unspecialized cells called archaeocytes. Archaeocytes perform various functions, including: intracellular digestion, gamete production, and waste elimination. Sponges also have the amazing ability to self-recognize and reform if broken apart; archaeocytes are thought to function in this as well. Flagellated cells, called choanocytes or collar cells, create water flow as well as capture small food particles and incoming sperm. Sponges are divided into three classes, distinguished by differences in structure: Demospongiae (like your common bath sponge), Calcarea, and Hexactinallida. They are also divided into functional groups based on form complexity.\n\nSo the answer is really BOTH.
238201
i love sponge bob but i wont marry him i dont want 2 live the rest of my life in the sea :D
946510
If that were the case, no mating between spiders would take place.\n\nThe webs aren't spider specific. They will ensnare anything stepping on a sticky portion. Spiders know what parts of the threads to step on. \n\nHowever, spiders will defend their territory against other spiders. One of the reasons male spider longevity isn't as high as the females.
853263
What do you want to know about them? I have a little colony (a sea monkey colony!) and there are some in my lab where they get fed to guppies as high-growth food. Also known as artemia.\n\nIf you're caring for them, you just have to do a few simple things and they'll get their own colony thriving on their own. They need oxygen (a constant supply from a bubbler is best) and food (algae, which you can feed in powder form, and let a little grow by placing their setup in indirect sun). They eat by swimming and flipping around and filter food through their little legs. Males have big crests on their heads, which they use to mate with females, who have these sort of egg-sac structures on the lower portion of their body. The males will attach their crests onto the female's egg-sac thing and swim around with them like that for a while (my monkeys did it once). \n\nThe eggs can resist drying out (which is why when you hatch them, they come in a dry powdery form). They live in saltwater but I think they can tolerate a wide range of salinities. You can feed them to some freshwater fish, like guppies, which find them a pretty tasty treat.
735277
It depends on the specific protozoa; if for example both the mealworm and the protozoa benefit from the relationship (the protozoa has a nice place to live and feed and the mealworm benefits from the protozoa breaking down other organic matter in the mealworms digestive system) it would be a mutualistic symbiotic relationship.  If, however, the protozoa is using the mealworm as a host carrier in its life cycle as a staging area to propagate itself, lay eggs, or feed on until it is deposited somewhere and it negatively affects the health of the mealworm, it is a parasitic relationship (the protozoa being the parasite).
759935
Yes they are a living thing. They breathe, eat and reproduce. Just because it doesnt walk around doenst mean it isnt living.
1054298
No, they would be shallower, but only by a teeny bit. Although the sponge, when dried out, is largely hollow, it does have a finite volume. This volume displaces some of the ocean, so the level rises.\nTo test the theory, put some water in a basin, mark the level, gently put in a few dry sponges. Make sure they are fully submerged.\nIf the level goes up, this shows that the oceans would be shallower without sponges.\nIf the level goes down, you have discovered a material with negative volume; don't stop running until you get to the patent office.
619361
I think you're looking for a "symbiotic" relationship rather than a "parasitic" one. In a symbiotic relationship the two species rely on each other for survival or they help each other out in some way.\n\n"An example of mutual symbiosis is the relationship between clownfish of the genus Amphiprion (family, Pomacentridae) that dwell among the tentacles of tropical sea anemones. The territorial fish protects the anemone from anemone-eating fish, and in turn the stinging tentacles of the anemone protect the clownfish from its predators (a special mucus on the clownfish protects it from the stinging tentacles)."
89245
Depends what you mean. From a utility point of view, yes it certainly is. Sponges have been made from sponge, from cork and from loofahs. Today most sponges are made form plastic. So by that standard it's a sponge.\n\n\nIn biological terms no, it's not. A sponge is an animal that lives in the sea. A loofah is the dried remnants of a type of squash. It's a vegetable.
545674
They are not all "sponges".It is wrong to use someone else's ss#.As long as they are here to work,I say let them stay.
470554
I believe so.   That has to be the funniest question i've seen.   There is only one way to find out.  If we can get enough people. Let's get rid of the the sponges
1171956
A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.
722900
Richard Dawkins has two wonderful chapters on cnidarians (jellyfish) and poriferans (sponges) in 'The Ancestor's Tale.'\n\nCnidarians have two body plans, the medusa (jellyfish) and the polyp (sea anemones and hydras).  Polyps often reproduce by budding and can make huge colonies of organisms.  The portuguese-man-of-war is actually a complex colony of medusa and polyp forms.  (BTW, he has a great discussion about how the stinger cell in jellyfish may be the most complex structure in any cell anywhere in the animal and plant kingdoms. Way cool!)\n\nPoriferans (sponges) are even simpler organisms.  Although they are ostensibly multicellular organisms, with several types of cells, these cells don't organize themselves into specialized tissues and organs. Sponges are able to reproduce both asexually and sexually.\n\nSo the evolutionary significance is that an individual is basically a colony.  As such they are right at the boundary between single-celled and multi-celled creatures.  They demonstrate how multi-celled organisms could arise as a colony of cooperating single-cells.
132989
I think that it is possible that a human being can spend their life without a partner, but it is not the normal thing to do because we evolved as social creatures.  I would not say that people are swayed or cave into peer pressure to partner, but that it is against our nature to be alone, and it is impossible to live from birth without some sort of partner because we are not born self-sufficient.  Most people who spend their lives alone do so because they have suffered some sort of trauma, or they have mental health issues.
891260
Several classic features characterize monogamy. In a monogamous relationship, a breeding pair shares the same nest and territory where they are frequently in contact. Monogamous males participate in parental care, and intruders of either sex are rejected \n\nBiologists believe that monogamy evolved in those species whose fathers could help rear the offspring (e.g., birds). Birds seem to have some of the longest relationships (over 90%). but take penguins for instance, No species of penguin truly mates for life. There are some "divorces" each year. The divorce rate varies widely between the different species. Generally the divorce rate is lowest (at around 10%) in those species with the shortest breeding seasons (such as the Adelie) - this is probably a good tactic as they don't have to waste time finding a compatible partner each season.  Conversely, penguins with a long breeding season (such as Africans) tend to have much higher divorce rates - as high as 60% in some reports. \n\nScientists think that macaws mate for life, producing one to three young each year. The young are relatively slow to develop, remaining in the nest for up to four months, and staying with their parents until the next breeding season.\n\nCanada geese and swans do mate for life. Mated pairs not only raise and protect their young together, but also look out for one another over the course of their lives. One mate will stay by the other's side if injured or dying, even if the rest of the flock is moving on. They are extremely devoted to one another. \n\nThe theory that monogamy originated from an equal partnership in "child-rearing" explains why only a small percentage (approximately three-percent) of mammals are monogamous. In mammals, females alone produce milk for the young. The percentage of primates that are monogamous (15%) is higher than most other mammals - who practice either promiscuity or polygyny.
787015
You should be doing your own homework instead of relying on others.  How are you going to succeed in life if all you do in sponge off of people.
871623
Depends on the species... I think its either King or Emperor penguins that court each other with pebbles - if th female accepts the male's pebble then they stay together for the rest of their lives, I believe (having said that there's increasing evidence that the swan, held high as the paragon of fidelity, will cheat on its partner if it can)