Using high-definition, time-lapse videos of marine sponges, researchers were able to capture each step of a single sneeze—confirming for the first time that the behavior is a mode of self-cleaning for the organisms.
. The sponge coats unwanted detritus and waste with mucus and sends the coated particles out through small pores in its body called ostia. The glittering mucus globules travel along “highways” on the sponge’s surface, eventually meeting with particles from other highways at mucus “junctions” to form silklike clumps. These clumps grow larger and larger until the sponge eventually contracts, sneezing them out into the water. The sponge then relaxes and the process begins anew.
Other scientists had observed sponges sneezing by pushing water through their ostia before, but no one had confirmed the behavior was a mode of self-cleaning until now. The researchers can’t yet tell what mechanism causes the mucus to travel along these highways. They suspect it’s entirely different from the ones used for mucus transport in humans and other animals.
The mucus may be trash to the sponge, but it’s treasure to nearby fish and other reef-dwelling organisms. The scientists witnessed fish snacking on the sponge’s ejected mucus, suggesting it could be an important food source in marine ecosystems.
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