ID ,has anyone seen this before
- Thread starter matgvr
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tkeracer619
New member
I've seen it before but always thought it was some type of sponge.
found it, and learned something new.
News from the small sponge Tethya – miracle surface with modern skeleton
The small sponge Tethya wilhelma was the first species to be discovered in the Wilhelma Zoological Garden in Stuttgart and it was subsequently named after the zoo. Now, Tethya is hitting the headlines once again. In two studies published in the current issue of the journal Zoomorphology*, Dr. Michael Nickel from the Institute of Biology at the University of Stuttgart, Dr. Felix Beckmann (Hamburg) and Dr. Eric Bullinger (Ireland) describe the latest results obtained from the small white sponge balls.
The scientists have succeeded for the first time ever in recording the three-dimensional body of a complete sponge with electromagnetic waves (synchrotron radiation) and presenting it as a virtual model. The data provide detailed insights into the complex interior of the sponge, which is a representative of an animal species that is more than 600 million years old. A virtual journey through the sponge’s channel system provided new insights into the structural concept of the sponge. Impressive pictures were taken and the virtual data enable the measurement of the extremely branched water conduit system.
The sponge Tethya wilhelma in a photomontage composed of a live view (left) of the animal and virtual reconstruction of the inner structures (channel system: blue; skeleton: red), based on synchrotron microtomography. (Photo: Dr. Michael Nickel)
The pictures revealed that the small sponge is a total miracle with regards to surface area: “In terms of volume, Tethya wilhelma has a surface six times larger than that of human lungs,” said Michael Nickel. Previously, the dimensions of the surface/volume ratio had been greatly underestimated due to the lack of suitable measurement methods. The skeleton of the Tethya sponges also had some surprises in store. More than 16,000 minute, star-shaped mineral particles form a true sphere halfway between the exterior and the centre of the sponge. “What is special about this structure are the characteristics of the material,” said Nichael Nickel, explaining that the silicate particles are embedded in a thick collagen layer. Just like composite materials consisting of an elastic matrix (collagen) and embedded filling particles (silicate stars), this sphere is able to dynamically buffer high physical strain. This works on a similar principle in car tyres. Similar composite materials can also be used in medicine, for example in tissue-compatible implants. “In principle, the sponge is a very modern type of material,” said Nickel.
Fastest sponge on earth
A group of Tethya wilhelma sponges in the aquarium, living on a piece of dead coral. Although the natural occurrence of this sponge species is not known it is believed that the sponges were introduced into the Wilhelma Zoological Garden on stones brought to Stuttgart from the Red Sea. (Photo: Dr. Michael Nickel)
Such applications, inspired by bionic research, are dreams of the future. At the moment, the new data gained with the synchrotron microtomograph helps the scientists to get a better understanding of the model organisms used. Current research being undertaken at the University of Stuttgart is particularly important for understanding the strange movements of Tethya wilhema, which is regarded as the fastest sponge on earth. The enormous contractile surfaces in the sponge enable the extreme contraction of the body. “And this is achieved without muscle cells,” said Nickel. The spatial order of the skeletal elements evenly distributes the tensile force during contraction. This prevents the vital filtration apparatus located in the centre from deforming or even collapsing.
Michael Nickel believes there is still more research to be done on Tethya wilhelma. By combining theoretical and applied research, the scientists hope to gain new ideas for biomedical and engineering materials. The sponge therefore provides inspiration for the creation of composite materials as well as through the underwater adhesive structure found on the body protuberances of the sponge. Therefore, Tethya wilhelma will continue to be a key research model used in the interdisciplinary cooperation between engineers, molecular and systems biologists.
Source: University of Stuttgart - 13 November 2006
News from the small sponge Tethya – miracle surface with modern skeleton
The small sponge Tethya wilhelma was the first species to be discovered in the Wilhelma Zoological Garden in Stuttgart and it was subsequently named after the zoo. Now, Tethya is hitting the headlines once again. In two studies published in the current issue of the journal Zoomorphology*, Dr. Michael Nickel from the Institute of Biology at the University of Stuttgart, Dr. Felix Beckmann (Hamburg) and Dr. Eric Bullinger (Ireland) describe the latest results obtained from the small white sponge balls.
The scientists have succeeded for the first time ever in recording the three-dimensional body of a complete sponge with electromagnetic waves (synchrotron radiation) and presenting it as a virtual model. The data provide detailed insights into the complex interior of the sponge, which is a representative of an animal species that is more than 600 million years old. A virtual journey through the sponge’s channel system provided new insights into the structural concept of the sponge. Impressive pictures were taken and the virtual data enable the measurement of the extremely branched water conduit system.
The sponge Tethya wilhelma in a photomontage composed of a live view (left) of the animal and virtual reconstruction of the inner structures (channel system: blue; skeleton: red), based on synchrotron microtomography. (Photo: Dr. Michael Nickel)
The pictures revealed that the small sponge is a total miracle with regards to surface area: “In terms of volume, Tethya wilhelma has a surface six times larger than that of human lungs,” said Michael Nickel. Previously, the dimensions of the surface/volume ratio had been greatly underestimated due to the lack of suitable measurement methods. The skeleton of the Tethya sponges also had some surprises in store. More than 16,000 minute, star-shaped mineral particles form a true sphere halfway between the exterior and the centre of the sponge. “What is special about this structure are the characteristics of the material,” said Nichael Nickel, explaining that the silicate particles are embedded in a thick collagen layer. Just like composite materials consisting of an elastic matrix (collagen) and embedded filling particles (silicate stars), this sphere is able to dynamically buffer high physical strain. This works on a similar principle in car tyres. Similar composite materials can also be used in medicine, for example in tissue-compatible implants. “In principle, the sponge is a very modern type of material,” said Nickel.
Fastest sponge on earth
A group of Tethya wilhelma sponges in the aquarium, living on a piece of dead coral. Although the natural occurrence of this sponge species is not known it is believed that the sponges were introduced into the Wilhelma Zoological Garden on stones brought to Stuttgart from the Red Sea. (Photo: Dr. Michael Nickel)
Such applications, inspired by bionic research, are dreams of the future. At the moment, the new data gained with the synchrotron microtomograph helps the scientists to get a better understanding of the model organisms used. Current research being undertaken at the University of Stuttgart is particularly important for understanding the strange movements of Tethya wilhema, which is regarded as the fastest sponge on earth. The enormous contractile surfaces in the sponge enable the extreme contraction of the body. “And this is achieved without muscle cells,” said Nickel. The spatial order of the skeletal elements evenly distributes the tensile force during contraction. This prevents the vital filtration apparatus located in the centre from deforming or even collapsing.
Michael Nickel believes there is still more research to be done on Tethya wilhelma. By combining theoretical and applied research, the scientists hope to gain new ideas for biomedical and engineering materials. The sponge therefore provides inspiration for the creation of composite materials as well as through the underwater adhesive structure found on the body protuberances of the sponge. Therefore, Tethya wilhelma will continue to be a key research model used in the interdisciplinary cooperation between engineers, molecular and systems biologists.
Source: University of Stuttgart - 13 November 2006
softieatheart
New member
I have these in my tank, too. One big one in the middle of my Wood's Polyps, and several babies it sent out. My red star fish eats them.
no idea ,My rock came from bali i was told. The only thing i have from the red sea is a purple tang. And my corals are from various dealers and friends home aquariums.As far as the spider eggs go ,i grew up in a older farm house and used top play with all the bugs,Putting them in jars and fighting them and what not. lol
SushiGirl
Premium Member
That was my first guess, but then I second-guessed myself after reading the article and it not being mentioned LOL.
According to van Duyl’s former student, Jasper De Goeij, Halisarca caerulea sponges grow in the deep dark cavities beneath reefs, and 90% of their diet is composed of dissolved organic carbon, which is inedible for most other reef residents. But when De Goeij measured the amount of carbon that the brightly coloured sponges consumed he found that they consume half of their own weight each day, yet they never grew. What were the sponges doing with the carbon? Were the sponges really consuming that much carbon, or was there a problem with De Goeij’s measurements? He had to find out where the carbon was going to back up his measurements and publishes his discovery that sponges have one of the fastest cell division rates ever measured, and instead of growing they discard the cells. Essentially, the sponges recycle carbon that would otherwise be lost to the reef. De Goeij publishes his discovery on November 13 2009 in The Journal of Experimental Biology at http://jeb.biologists.org. Travelling to the Dutch Antilles with his student, Anna De Kluijver, De Goeij started SCUBA diving with the sponges to find out how much carbon they consume. ‘It is quite dark and technically difficult to work in the cavities,’ explains De Goeij, but the duo collected sponges, placed them in small chambers and exposed the sponges to 5- bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU). ‘The BrdU is only incorporated into the DNA of dividing cells,’ explains De Goeij, so cells that carry the BrdU label must be dividing, or have divided, since the molecule was added to the sponge’s water, and cells can only divide if they are taking up carbon. But when De Goeij returned to the Netherlands with his samples, he had problems finding the elusive label.
Discussing the BrdU detection problem with his father, biochemist Anton De Goeij, De Goeij Senior offered to introduce his son to Bert Schutte in Maastricht, who had developed a BrdU detection system for use in cancer therapy. Maybe he could help De Goeij Junior find evidence of cell division in his sponges.
Taking his samples to Jack Cleutjens’s Maastricht Pathology laboratory, De Goeij was finally able to detect the BrdU label in his sponge cells. Amazingly, half of the sponge’s choanocyte (filtration) cells had divided and the choanocyte’s cell division cycle was a phenomenally short 5.4 hours. ‘That is quicker than most bacteria divide,’ exclaims De Goeij.
The sponge was able to take up the colossal amounts of organic carbon that De Goeij had measured, but where was the carbon going: the sponges weren’t growing. De Goeij tested to see if the cells were dying and being lost, but he couldn’t find any evidence of cell death.
Presenting his results to the Maastricht Pathology Department, someone said ‘Lets look at this like a human intestine, then you should see shedding where old cells detach from the epithelia’. De Goeij knew that he had seen some loose cells, and thought that they were artefacts from cutting the samples, but when he and his Pathology Department colleagues went back and looked at the samples, De Goeij realised that choanocytes were shedding all over the place. And then De Goeij remembered the tiny piles of brown material he found next to the sponges in the aquarium every morning.
The sponges were shedding the newly divided cells, which other reef residents could now consume. ‘Halisarca caerulea is the great recycler of energy for the reef by turning over energy that nobody else can use [dissolved organic carbon] into energy that everyone can use [discarded choanocytes],’ explains De Goeij. This is very interesting to me, Sponges have a huge beneficial role to play in our home aquariums in my opinion. I Think i will make a large black acrylic sponge box with acrylic rods spaced out from top to bottom in my 240g sump with a small intake and out take and a sliding tray built into the bottom of the box for the shedding sponge cells to drop onto,Then every few days il slide out the tray and suck up all the sheded cells .It could prove to be a massive nutrient export out of my tank. And here are some numbers regarding surface area of sponges, the human lungs has 750 sqft of surface area ,the small tethya sponge has 6 times that 4500sqft of surface area , a cubic foot of these little sponges would be roughly 2,007,000 sqft of surface area. and a cubic foot of fine sand has 8000sqft of surface area. plus the sponges consumes waste.
Discussing the BrdU detection problem with his father, biochemist Anton De Goeij, De Goeij Senior offered to introduce his son to Bert Schutte in Maastricht, who had developed a BrdU detection system for use in cancer therapy. Maybe he could help De Goeij Junior find evidence of cell division in his sponges.
Taking his samples to Jack Cleutjens’s Maastricht Pathology laboratory, De Goeij was finally able to detect the BrdU label in his sponge cells. Amazingly, half of the sponge’s choanocyte (filtration) cells had divided and the choanocyte’s cell division cycle was a phenomenally short 5.4 hours. ‘That is quicker than most bacteria divide,’ exclaims De Goeij.
The sponge was able to take up the colossal amounts of organic carbon that De Goeij had measured, but where was the carbon going: the sponges weren’t growing. De Goeij tested to see if the cells were dying and being lost, but he couldn’t find any evidence of cell death.
Presenting his results to the Maastricht Pathology Department, someone said ‘Lets look at this like a human intestine, then you should see shedding where old cells detach from the epithelia’. De Goeij knew that he had seen some loose cells, and thought that they were artefacts from cutting the samples, but when he and his Pathology Department colleagues went back and looked at the samples, De Goeij realised that choanocytes were shedding all over the place. And then De Goeij remembered the tiny piles of brown material he found next to the sponges in the aquarium every morning.
The sponges were shedding the newly divided cells, which other reef residents could now consume. ‘Halisarca caerulea is the great recycler of energy for the reef by turning over energy that nobody else can use [dissolved organic carbon] into energy that everyone can use [discarded choanocytes],’ explains De Goeij. This is very interesting to me, Sponges have a huge beneficial role to play in our home aquariums in my opinion. I Think i will make a large black acrylic sponge box with acrylic rods spaced out from top to bottom in my 240g sump with a small intake and out take and a sliding tray built into the bottom of the box for the shedding sponge cells to drop onto,Then every few days il slide out the tray and suck up all the sheded cells .It could prove to be a massive nutrient export out of my tank. And here are some numbers regarding surface area of sponges, the human lungs has 750 sqft of surface area ,the small tethya sponge has 6 times that 4500sqft of surface area , a cubic foot of these little sponges would be roughly 2,007,000 sqft of surface area. and a cubic foot of fine sand has 8000sqft of surface area. plus the sponges consumes waste.
