International
Could this humble sea sponge clean up the world’s ports?
The chicken liver sponge has sailed through a test of its ability to filter pollutants in a harbour in Spain’s Costa Brava
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The survival of the chicken liver sponge in the harsh environment of a Spanish harbour suggests it could be used to help clean up pollution in ports. Photograph: Carlota Escarré |
In the polluted waters of Marina Palamós on Spain’s Costa Brava, Manuel Maldonado, a sponge biologist, noticed something unusual last month: red starfish had started settling in the area.
Nearly two years earlier, the Spanish National Research Council scientist and his colleagues had begun transplanting sea sponges into the port to study whether they could survive in its polluted waters.
Only one species, the chicken liver sponge (Chondrosia reniformis, also called the kidney sponge), which is found along the Mediterranean coast but rarely seen in the harbour, managed to survive. Its resilience, and the arrival of the red starfish, suggests sponges could be used to clean up pollution in ports. [continue]
