Freshwater Sponges

Freshwater sponges are the pinnacle of the weird and wonderful. As a basal animal that most people don’t even know exists, the freshwater sponges remain relatively understudied. The goal of this project is to survey, collect, and identify freshwater sponges within the Great Lakes region. 

This project serves to fill a gap in our basic understanding of the freshwater sponge ecology of the Great Lakes region as well as providing an insight into the conservation merit and needs of this overlooked aquatic animal. The literature is filled with bits and pieces about freshwater sponge biology and ecology, but few large scale studies have ever been completed. The last survey took place almost 90 years ago, although its mere existence means Michigan is ahead of most states in sponge research. 

This project will also provide the foundational research base for future sponge projects to be carried out by our research group. These planned projects include comparative genomics and microanatomy of freshwater sponges. 

Follow us this project on Twitter: @sponge_research