Not every person has heard of such an animal as the freshwater sponge badyaga. It is quite understandable - it does not differ in interesting features, and indeed, many people, when they see it, are often confused with algae. So filling this gap in knowledge will not be superfluous.
Appearance
As mentioned above, the appearance of the badyagi sponge is very reminiscent of some not very attractive algae. Most of all, it resembles a small bush, consisting of irregular tree-like processes. In warm water and good nutrition, they can be up to a meter long!
You can see them on many underwater objects - from snags and large stones to bridge supports and ship bottoms.
The color range is quite extensive. A sponge can be green, brown, yellowish and even gray - this largely depends on the composition of the water and the type of bottom where it lives.
Area
You can meet the badyagu sponge in almost any fresh water body - from the harsh subarctic regions to the equator. It inhabits rivers, lakes, ponds, streams and small swamps, preferring to live onrelatively shallow depth, well heated and illuminated by the sun. Seeing one sponge, you can be sure that there will be many others nearby - they almost always live in colonies, and once moved to a new place, they multiply quite quickly, occupying rather vast spaces.
Moreover, the sponge is quite picky about the quality of water. In too dirty reservoirs or those into which water with industrial waste is discharged, it dies rather quickly. Therefore, we can say with confidence that the presence of a badyagi in a reservoir is a good sign indicating that the water in it is clean and safe.
She also lives in our country. More precisely, there are even as many as twenty types of badyagi sponge! Among them is a completely unique Baikal. She has a more rigid skeleton.
Building
As you can see in the photos attached to the article, the badyaga sponge most of all resembles a cluster of separate elongated processes. The base is a skeleton made up of tiny needles of silica (also known as spicules) and spongin, a special type of protein.
The special color of the animal is given by unicellular algae, with which the sponge lives in dense symbiosis. Algae occupy any voids in the skeleton and also cover the entire surface of the sponge. They, as befits green algae, produce oxygen in the light, which the badyaga consumes, like any living organism. In return, algae receive the necessary carbon dioxide, which is not always enough in water.
The sponge is rough to the touch, and if you press too hard on it or rub a small piece between your fingers, you can feel subtle pricks that will lead to minor inflammation. This happens due to microscopic damage to the skin by spicules. It is also easy to smell the unusual smell of pickled cucumber.
Lifestyle
If, while studying the structure of the badyagi sponge, you look at it more closely, you will notice that almost its entire body is pierced by the finest chambers and channels. Water passes through them. A weak but sufficient current is provided by special flagella covering the walls of these chambers. These flagella move water through the body with rhythmic movements, and at the same time catch any particles suitable for digestion. Then the captured food is transferred to special amoeboid cells, which carry out digestion.
Thus, badyaga is a biofilter organism that purifies water from biological debris. Even a small shoot about 10 centimeters high drives through itself about twenty liters of water per day, ensuring the purity of the reservoir.
Life cycle
In warm regions, where even in winter the temperature does not drop below a certain level for a long time, the badyaga lives all year round and breeds successfully. Moreover, in this case, sexual reproduction is predominantly used.
The situation is quite different in countries with a more severe climate, for example, in Russia. Here badyaga lives only a few months. Afteras the water in the reservoirs warmed up to the optimum temperature, tiny gemmules become more active. They are kidneys with a diameter of about one millimeter. The spherical body is protected by a strong shell of silica, which provides it with reliable protection from any hostile organisms, as well as from adverse environmental conditions. Even if the cell is frozen in ice, it does not die. The same happens when water bodies dry up - the gemmula survives in the most difficult conditions, at low humidity and in a wide range of temperatures, for several years. Quite often they are carried over long distances - by waterfowl, and when the reservoir is completely dry - by strong winds.
In the spring, the shell breaks up, and a tiny sponge appears from the gemmula, which chooses a suitable place, fixes on it and begins to actively feed, growing rather quickly.
As the cold season approaches and the water temperature drops, the adult badyaga dies off, leaving behind a lot of gemmules that hatch in the spring, and the whole cycle repeats.
Benefits and harms
Of course, one of the main useful properties of badyaga is filtering, which was already mentioned earlier. Due to the fact that the sponge is a biological filter, in a reservoir where a sufficient number of them live, the water is always cleaner - not only single-celled microorganisms are destroyed, but also particles of dead animals and fish that rot and, as a result, pollute the environment.
About usea person and about what benefits the sponge brings to him, we will tell a little later - this topic is very extensive.
However, this amazing animal can bring significant harm. For example, if a tiny gemmul somehow passes through the filtration system and enters the sewer pipes, then it grows quite quickly here - the water is warm enough, and there are more than enough nutrient particles. As a result, it may well clog the entire pipe. Moreover, it is rarely possible to eliminate the blockage by conventional means - specialists have to look for where the sponge is and eliminate it, which takes a lot of time and effort.
Human use
Dried and carefully crushed badyaga is used for rubbing against rheumatism and other diseases. Mild inflammation of the skin leads to warming up of the muscles and, as a result, a decrease in pain. In addition, sponges are used to make ointments that allow you to get rid of bruises.
In ancient times, women often used badyagi powder to bring a blush. After rubbing, the cheeks became slightly inflamed and acquired a reddish tint, which is easy to confuse with a he althy ruddy. What kind of sacrifices do women not have to make for the sake of beauty!
Baikal badyaga is used by local residents when cleaning various metal surfaces instead of an iron brush.
For a while, Russia even successfully exported the sponge to some European countries, such as Germany.
Conclusion
This concludes our article on the badyaga sponge. Now you are enoughknow about this amazing representative of the Animal Kingdom, which consists in a successful symbiosis with unicellular algae to support any conversation about it. So, you will become a more interesting conversationalist.
