Glass sponge reefs are unique to the coast of British Columbia, Canada. They represent a living window into the past where prehistoric sponge reefs (now extinct) once dominated the Jurassic, but disappeared after the Cretaceous.
Today, sponge reefs create habitat for a diverse community of other animals, several of which are commercially important (crustaceans and fish).
Unfortunately, these reefs are not federally protected as marine protected areas. Some reefs, 9000-years old, could potentially be destroyed by fishing activity that frequently occurs on the Pacific coast of Canada.
Video compilation credit: Jackson W.F. Chu
Video Sources Courtesy of Sally Leys / CSSF-ROPOS
Featured in news coverage:
http://globalnews.ca/video/907290/glass-sponge-reef-campaign
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131018-glass-sponge-reef-canada-ocean-science/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/jurassic-park-submerged-visited-in-b-c-submarine-dives-1.2074402
http://cpawsbc.org/campaigns/glass-sponge-reefs
For more on the biology, ecology, and science of glass sponge reefs:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps08794
http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps09381
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7410.2012.00262.x
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0027787
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lno.10002
