Persistence of glass sponge in face of climatic variability

The glass sponge has persisted on the Scotian Shelf for decades, despite strong historical variability in water conditions and extremely limited protection by conservation efforts, according to a study published October 24 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Lindsay Beazley of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Nova Scotia, Canada, and colleagues. The authors suggest that the results may give insight into how this species will respond to future climate change.