Overview
- The study, reported Thursday, July 30, 2026, transplanted 42 Mediterranean sponges onto artificial reefs in Marina Palamós and monitored them for 455 days.
- Chondrosia reniformis survived at 91.7 percent through the full monitoring period and produced asexually generated clones by a creeping and fission process.
- Three other tested species steadily shrank and died within 20 to 165 days and one species failed during laboratory holding, leaving C. reniformis as the only strong survivor.
- Researchers will run multi‑year monitoring that focuses on changes in the sponge’s symbiotic microbial communities to test whether microbes help the sponge tolerate pollutants.
- If validated at larger scale, planting hardy filter feeders like C. reniformis could improve water quality by removing metals, bacteria, viruses, and organic particles while creating habitat for small marine life.