page_title: Giant barrel sponge
section_title: Ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Giant barrel sponge / Ecology
caption_attribution_description: English: Xestospongia muta on Conch Reef, Florida Keys, dying of "sponge orange band." 2 June 2015, 15 m depth, photographed by JR Pawlik.
context_page_description: The giant barrel sponge is the largest species of sponge found growing on Caribbean coral reefs. It is common at depths greater than 10 metres down to 120 metres and can reach a diameter of 1.8 metres. It is typically brownish-red to brownish-gray in color, with a hard or stony texture. The giant barrel sponge has been called the "redwood of the reef" because of its size and estimated lifespan of hundreds to a thousand or more years. It is perhaps the best-studied species of sponge in the sea; a population on Conch Reef, in the Florida Keys, has been monitored and studied since 1997.
context_section_description: The tissues of the giant barrel sponge contain photosynthetic symbiotic cyanobacteria which give the sponge its color. Individuals may undergo periodic bleaching, but this is a cyclic event, and the sponge recovers its normal coloration over time.  Unlike the circumstances for coral bleaching, X. muta does not appear to rely on its photosynthetic symbionts for nutrition, and they are considered commensals. Unrelated to cyclic bleaching is a pathogenic condition of X. muta called "sponge orange band" that can result in the death of the sponge. The cause and transmission of this pathogenic condition remains a mystery.
  The giant barrel sponge is an important member of the reef community. It serves as a habitat for various invertebrates which live on the surface or in the interior and is grazed upon by some parrotfish. It is also host to a diverse community of microbes, some of which are primary producers or involved in nitrification.
caption: Xestospongia muta on Conch Reef, Florida Keys, dying of "sponge orange band." 2 June 2015, 15 m depth.
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