Question

How do sponges reproduce sexually?

Answer 1

Sexual reproduction in sponges:

1. Sperm and ova are produced during sexual reproduction in sponges.
2. Either choanocytes or archaeocytes give rise to the sex cells.
3. Despite the fact that the majority of sponges are hermaphrodites, cross-fertilization is the norm due to the varied times at which eggs and sperm are produced.
4. Oocytes are created within the body and wait to be fertilized in the mesoglea.
5. Archaeocytes and trophocyte cells participate in the creation of sperm, and in the demosponge, choanocytes make sperm and exit the sponge's body through the osculum in vast numbers.
6. Water sperm go via the canal system of one sponge and end up in the flagellate chambers, where choanocytes catch them.
7. Choanocytes, which serve as nurse cells, deliver the sperm body without a tail to the mature ova that are waiting in the mesoglea.