They have a reputation for being among the most toxic animals on the planet and are thus primary targets of the pharmaceutical industry.Ī few decades ago, when carnivorous sponges (now known as Family Cladorhizidae) were discovered in deep-seas, that do not filter feed seawater, nor have the cellular structures to be able to do so, but have instead evolved as predators that catch and digest their prey directly (such as wayward small crustaceans). Marine sponges ( Phylum Porifera) are suspension feeders, filtering seawater for organic particles and metabolising many toxic chemical compounds from the seawater excreted by other animals, plants and microbes. Read Merrick's profile What are marine sponges? His job entails field surveys to Moreton Bay, the Great Barrier Reef and most remote locations including Torres Straits. He is responsible for the curation of over 60,000 specimens including 5,000 species of sponges, 1,000 species of ascidians and 600 morpho-species of octocorals. ![]() He is involved in the collection, identification and preservation of sessile marine invertebrates and some that have a non-sessile phase like jellyfish. ![]() Merrick is the collection manager of Sessile Marine Invertebrates which include Porifera (sponges), Cnidaria (hard and soft corals, jellyfish, hydroids, anemones), Ascidians, Zooanthids, Hemichordata, Bryozoans (lace corals) and Brachiopods (lamp shells).
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