NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Remember, sponges live attached to the seafloor. Because they are attached, they are called sessile. In order obtain food, sponges pass water through their bodies in a process known as filter-feeding. Water is drawn into the sponge through tiny holes called incurrent pores.

Detailed explanation-2: -As sponges don’t have mouths, they must feed by some other method. Sponges have tiny pores in their outer walls through which water is drawn. Cells in the sponge walls filter food from the water as the water is pumped through the body and out other larger openings.

Detailed explanation-3: -As a result, filter-feeding species have the potential to concentrate or remove pathogens. Individual sessile filter-feeding organisms such as bivalves can clear particles from tens to hundreds of liters of water daily.

Detailed explanation-4: -Sponges are filter feeders and hosts for symbiotic algae (a relatively uncommon relationship in freshwater taxa). They can filter substantial numbers of bacteria and suspended algae from the water, making them serious competitors with some protozoa, zooplankton, and a few other multicellular taxa.

Detailed explanation-5: -Feeding and digestion The Porifera are primarily filter feeders, utilizing food particles suspended in the water and captured by the choanocytes. Food particles consist essentially of bacteria, other microorganisms, and particles of organic debris; sponges also probably absorb dissolved organic substances.