Sponge Reef
Sponge reefs serve an important ecological function as habitat, breeding and nursery areas for fish and invertebrates. The reefs are currently threatened by the fishery, offshore oil and gas industries. Attempts are being made to protect these unique ecosystems through fishery closures and potentially the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MAPs) around the sponge reefs.
Hexactinellid sponge reefs were common in the Late Jurassic period, and were believed to have gone extinct during or shortly after the Cretaceous period. Living sponge reefs were discovered in the Queen Charlotte Basin (QCB) in 1987-1988, and were reported in the Georgia Basin (GB) in 2005. These sponge reefs are considered to be “living fossils.”
Read more about Sponge Reef: Characteristics of Hexactinellid Sponges, Location of Sponge Reefs, Structure of Sponge Reefs, “Living Fossils”, Ecological Significance, Destruction of Sponge Reefs, Protection, See Also
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