Sponge Reef Symposium: Scientists to highlight research on B.C.'s underwater "living dinosaurs"
Scientists from around the globe will gather in Sidney, B.C., this week to share the latest research discoveries on glass sponge reefs. The first-ever Sponge Reef Symposium, hosted by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), Natural Resources Canada and the University of Alberta, will highlight scientific research on globally unique glass sponge reefs found only on the BC coast, and will provide a forum to discuss next steps in future conservation and research. The symposium runs October 28-29, 2008.
"It is exciting for CPAWS to see these researchers coming together to share the latest scientific findings on this amazing natural feature on the BC coast," said Sabine Jessen, National Manager of the Oceans and Great Freshwater Lakes Program for CPAWS. "What we learn will lead to a better understanding and better conservation of the glass sponge reefs, found only on our coast."
What are glass sponges?
Until recently, scientists thought that glass sponge reefs had gone extinct with the dinosaurs. Then, in 1989, Canadian scientists were stunned to discover four large living glass sponge reefs in Hecate Strait, on the coast of British Columbia. The reefs are 9,000 years old, grow to the height of an 8-storey building (over 20 metres tall) and provide important three-dimensional habitat for seafloor-dwelling animals, including juvenile rockfish, shrimp, octopi and other fish species. Smaller reefs were recently discovered off the Sunshine Coast and in the Strait of Georgia, including one located near Galiano Island.
Glass sponge... clones?
New findings about the glass sponge reefs will be presented in Sidney, for example the work of Dr. Sally Leys and her colleagues at the University of Alberta who will present their findings on sponge reproduction and answer the question – are they individuals or are they clones? By looking at glass sponges on the B.C. coast, scientists have made a fascinating discovery: some juvenile sponges are in fact clones of other sponges in the reef, while others are genetic individuals, floating in on the currents in their larval form.
Other groundbreaking research on glass sponges will be presented and discussed at the two-day symposium.
Although the sponges in B.C are the only known living examples in the world of glass sponge reefs, they still do not have permanent protection. Bottom trawling has destroyed more than half of these delicate organisms, and while the federal government has closed the areas in Hecate Strait to bottom trawling since 2002, the closures do not offer permanent protection, and the smaller reefs in the Strait of Georgia have no protection.
CPAWS will be presenting on our long standing efforts for permanent protection of the sponge reefs as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) under the Oceans Act. Fisheries and Oceans scientists supported the need for MPA status in a report prepared in 2002*.
Dr. Manfred Krautter of the University of Hannover, a world leading expert in glass sponge reefs, has long called for UNESCO World Heritage designation for these glass sponge reefs. "Once the sponge reefs receive full permanent protection by Canada as MPAs, they will be eligible for World Heritage designation. As a living link to the dinosaurs and the globally unique nature of these glass sponge reefs, this would be a wonderful outcome."
Sponge Reef Symposium
Oct. 28-29, 2008
Institute of Ocean Sciences
9860 West Saanich Road
Sidney, British Columbia, Canada
V8L 4B2
Phone: (250)-363-6517
-30-
Contacts:
Sabine Jessen: National Manager, Oceans and Great Freshwater Lakes program, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)
604-657-2813 (cell)
* Glen Jamieson and L. Chew. 20002. Hexactinellid Sponge Reefs: Areas of Interest as Marine Protected Areas in the North and Central Coast Areas. Cdn. Sci. Adv. Sec report 2002/122
CPAWS - British Columbia Chapter