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Huge sponge off Hawaii absorbs scientists attention...
Scientists reveal secrets of giant sponge
Sun, May 29, 2016 - Researchers in Hawaii have been absorbed by a sea creature they discovered last summer, and their findings are pretty big.
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Minivan Sized Sponge Discovered Off Hawaii
May 27, 2016 - Underwater researchers say they’ve found an ocean sponge the size of a minivan deep waters off the coast of Hawaii in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
Scientists reveal secrets of giant sponge
Sun, May 29, 2016 - Researchers in Hawaii have been absorbed by a sea creature they discovered last summer, and their findings are pretty big.
The team of scientists on a deep-sea expedition in the waters off Hawaii discovered what they say is the world’s largest known sponge. The creature, roughly the size of a minivan, was discovered about 2,100m beneath the surface in a marine conservation area called Papahanaumokuakea off the shores of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The rare sponge, with a bluish-white color and brain-like appearance, stunned scientists when it appeared in the remote-controlled cameras attached to their underwater rover.
Scientists from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Hawaii studied the sponge for about a year before releasing their findings. “The largest portion of our planet lies in deep waters, the vast majority of which has never been explored,” Papahanaumokuakea research specialist Daniel Wagner with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries said in a statement released on Wednesday. “Finding such an enormous and presumably old sponge emphasizes how much can be learned from studying deep and pristine environments.” A study published this week in the scientific journal Marine Biodiversity described the massive creature.
An underwater remote-controlled vehicle approaches a massive sponge in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off Hawaii
The animal was found in the waters of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which is the largest protected conservation area in the US and one of the largest in the world. It covers an area that is bigger than all the other US national parks combined. Christopher Kelley, program biologist at the Hawaii Undersea Research Lab, who helped lead the expedition with Wagner, said the crew captured images of the sponge with remote underwater cameras that were positioned above their underwater research vehicle.
They then used laser points to measure parts of the sponge and also carefully measured the vehicle and compared those dimensions to the images they had of the sponge and vehicle together to determine its size. Kelley said they took samples of a sponge of the same species they found the day before the larger one and sent them to the world’s top experts and no one could identify what genus the sponge belongs to.
Scientists reveal secrets of giant sponge - Taipei Times
See also:
Minivan Sized Sponge Discovered Off Hawaii
May 27, 2016 - Underwater researchers say they’ve found an ocean sponge the size of a minivan deep waters off the coast of Hawaii in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
The sponge, which researchers say is the largest ever recorded, was discovered in 2015 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s research vessel, the Okeanos Explorer and was recently described in the journal Marine Biodiversity. Its size researchers say also suggests it is very, very old.
No one knows how long sponges can live, but some large ones found in shallow water are suspected to be over 2,300 years-old, and some estimates suggest they could be thousands of years older. “The largest portion of our planet lies in deep waters, the vast majority of which has never been explored,” said Papahānaumokuākea research specialist Daniel Wagner, science lead for the expedition with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. “Finding such an enormous and presumably old sponge emphasizes how much can be learned from studying deep and pristine environments such as those found in the remote Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.”
The largest sponge ever recorded was found off the coast of Hawaii.
Founded in 2006, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is, according to its website, the “largest contiguous fully protected conservation area under the U.S. flag, and one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world” at over 362,073 square kilometers. It is bigger than every national park combined. The Okeanos Explorer is the "only federally funded U.S. ship assigned to systematically explore our largely unknown ocean for the purpose of discovery and the advancement of knowledge."
Massive, and presumably old sponges provide "key ecosystem services such as filtering large amounts of seawater, as well as providing important habitat to a myriad of invertebrate and microbial species,” according to the study. The Okeanos Explorer made another discovery recently when it spotted a “ghost-like” octopus believed to be a new species.
Minivan Sized Sponge Discovered Off Hawaii
