Many corals and sponges form skeletons that support and shape their bodies. Whereas biomineralization—the formation of these skeletons—has been intensively studied in corals, the main ecosystem ...

A Venus’s-flower-basket isn’t all show. This stunning deep-sea sponge can also alter the flow of seawater in surprising ways. A lacy, barrel-shaped chamber forms the sponge’s glassy skeleton. Flow ...

A study is the first to evaluate substrate recolonization by sponges in the U.S. Virgin Islands after two catastrophic storms using genetic analyses to understand how much clonality verses sexual ...

Scientists have uncovered the genetic underpinnings of one of the ocean's most bizarre animals: a branching marine worm named Ramisyllis kingghidorahi that lives inside sea sponges and reproduces in a ...

For the study, scuba divers collected small samples of the thin purple morphotype sponges 14 and 22 months after the two Category 5 hurricanes in St. Thomas. Named for its ropy-looking long branches, ...