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An informational infographic about sponge restoration efforts in Florida Bay by UF/IFAS and Florida Sea Grant.
The top left features the UF/IFAS and Sea Grant logos, followed by a text section titled “Why restore sponges?”. The text explains that sponges filter hundreds of gallons of water daily, improving clarity by consuming phytoplankton, viruses, and bacteria. They also provide essential habitats, and without them, underwater landscapes become barren. A teal text box in the upper right is titled “SPONGE RESTORATION” and details how techniques are being refined to grow sponge cuttings to rebuild communities after 1990s phytoplankton blooms decimated populations.
The center of the graphic features a large 3D perspective illustration of an underwater grid layout on a light green seafloor. It depicts rows of gray, rectangular blocks or bricks. Each brick has a dark green sponge cutting attached to the top, showing various sizes and stages of growth.
The bottom left includes a heading “How does sponge restoration work?” explaining that sponges are simple animals that regenerate from cuttings. Step one describes collecting the top of an adult sponge and cutting it into fist-sized pieces. The bottom right text box completes the process, stating that cuttings are attached to bricks and returned to the water, where they quickly regenerate into new adult sponges to be harvested or moved to new grow-out sites.
The footer includes the URL FLSEAGRANT.ORG/RESTORATION/, a NOAA logo badge, and a large Florida Sea Grant logo with the tagline “FOSTERING RESPONSIBLE AQUACULTURE”.