All Soaked Up!
Laying Around, Soaking it All Up—Phylum Porifera One of the most colorful and abundant groups of animals is the sponge. Sponges are very interesting and complex animals. Studies about the profiera phylum are often difficult because of the microscopic levels of actions and the lengthy processes. The phylum Porifera is entirely aquatic and mostly marine (Biology of Sponges 1). The percentage of marine sponges is 98%. Over 8000 species of sponges have been scientifically studied (1). Scientists are estimating that over 15,000 species of Porifera exists in the world. Since the level of diversity is so high, sponges rank among the top eight most abundant animal phyla (1). Sponges are very important in the aquatic ecosystems. While acting as filters for particles out of water for bacteria, sponges also form a fairly substantial portion of the coral reef biomass (Biology of Sponges 2). Although sponges play an active roll to the environment, they are clearly the simplest of the conspicuous animal phyla and are very important subjects of considering the evolution of animals (2). Studies have indicated that the animal kingdom evolved only once, and that the Phylum Porifera is at the base of the animal tree of life (2).