Paper presented by H.F. Moore, and awarded $100 in gold offered by Hayes Bigelow for best demonstration, based on original investigations, of commercial possibilities of growing sponges from eggs or cuttings.

The authors "have intended to make the forefront of sponge research easily accessible to the nonspecialist, illustrating the state of the art of the field,and presenting current controversial issues. For the specialist, we wanted this monograph to be a handy, valuable update on the most recent advances in sponge science."--p. x

One of two special issues of Advances in Marine Biology focusing on sponge science, it features comprehensive reviews of the latest studies that are advancing our understanding of the fascinating marine phylum Porifera. The selected contributors are internationally renowned researchers in their respective fields and provide a thorough overview of the state-of-the-art of sponge science. This volume will become a reference to marine biologists with interest in benthic ecology and biotic interactions, including symbiosis; chemical and molecular ecology; systematics, phylogeny, and evolution; sponge culture and tissue engineering