Sponge function
Okay, so imagine you're playing in the water with a sponge toy. You squeeze the sponge and it absorbs the water around it, right? This is kind of like what a real sponge does!
In the ocean, there are these living creatures called sponges. They look kind of like lumpy rocks, but they're actually made of tiny pores and channels that allow water to flow through them. As the water passes through the sponge, the tiny particles in it, like bacteria and plankton, get trapped inside the sponge.
But sponges are more than just passive filters. Inside their bodies, they have special cells called choanocytes that can grab onto that trapped food and digest it. Then, they release waste back out into the water, keeping the ocean clean and healthy.
So just like how you use a sponge toy to clean up water, sponges in the ocean help to clean up the water around them by filtering out tiny particles and breaking them down into nutrients. Pretty cool, huh?
In the ocean, there are these living creatures called sponges. They look kind of like lumpy rocks, but they're actually made of tiny pores and channels that allow water to flow through them. As the water passes through the sponge, the tiny particles in it, like bacteria and plankton, get trapped inside the sponge.
But sponges are more than just passive filters. Inside their bodies, they have special cells called choanocytes that can grab onto that trapped food and digest it. Then, they release waste back out into the water, keeping the ocean clean and healthy.
So just like how you use a sponge toy to clean up water, sponges in the ocean help to clean up the water around them by filtering out tiny particles and breaking them down into nutrients. Pretty cool, huh?