Normally, asking someone, "How old are you?" might be considered a little rude. But when it comes to the creatures of the reef, the answers are simply too intriguing not to ask. We've all had those moments while snorkeling when a wrinkled, barnacle-encrusted sea turtle glides gracefully past, making you think, "That dude has seen some things.". Or perhaps you've drifted over a coral colony stretching for tens of meters and found yourself wondering, "Were you alive when the dinosaurs still roamed the Earth?". Well, in this blog, we're going to ask that nosy question "How old are you?" to some of our favorite residents of the reef. The answers might just leave us all feeling a little younger. Giant Barrel Sponge On tours, every now and again, I encourage our guests to swim towards deeper water and peak over the edge of the shallow plateau we are snorkeling over. One of the most prominent things you will likely see are these giant barrel sponges that can grow to be so large that you could easily fit inside one. When it comes to age, these sponges absolutely knock it out of the park... and right into outer space. Giant barrel sponges tend to grow anywhere between a few millimeters to a couple of centimeters a year. Depending on their position on the reef they will have more or less nutrient rich water flow through them which correlates with their growth rate. By taking repeated photographs of their growth over time scientist have estimated that many of these sponges are 100s of years old. And most impressively, the oldest giant barrel sponge measured to date is over 2000 years old!!! If this has you wondering how old your favorite sponge is, Dr Joseph Pawlik has made it easy for us to
Normally, asking someone, “How old are you?” might be considered a little rude. But when it comes to the creatures of the reef, the answers are simply too intriguing not to ask. We’ve all had those moments while snorkeling when a wrinkled, barnacle-encrusted sea turtle glides gracefully past, making you think, “That dude has seen
