Conservation & Threats

Little study has gone into threats effecting individual species of sponge. However, as a group, the event of temperature increase is extremely dangerous. Sponges host a large range of symbiotic bacteria and microbes providing either mutualism or commensalism. Many of these microscopic organisms, when exposed to increased temperature, either die or leave the host allowing diseases and opportunistic parasites to move in. This loss of positive symbiosis may result in either damage to or death of sponge species (Australian Institute of Marine Science 2009).