Vancouver Aquarium funded to study rare glass sponge reefs in Howe Sound

Glass sponge reefs are said to be unlike anything else in the world. Until about 25 years ago it was believed they went extinct but then in the late 1980s they were discovered living in Hecate Strait in northern B.C.

The delicate growths are the world’s only living examples of the large sponge reefs that have been around since the Jurassic Period. The B.C. reefs date back more than 9,000 years, and when scientists made the discovery in Hecate Strait, the find was compared to locating a herd of dinosaurs roaming on land.

Some of the white-, grey- or taupe-coloured sponges resemble coral, while others look like delicate Elizabethan neck ruffles or the pleated tulle of a ballerina’s skirt.

“The look like cumulus clouds, they’re just so beautiful, and you’re down there you’re just swept away by the beauty of it,” said Vancouver Aquarium marine science vice-president Dr. Jeff Marliave.

In the last 15 years, scientists have discovered several ancient glass sponge reefs in the Howe Sound area.

“As far as we know these reefs only exist here in British Columbia and it happens that in Howe Sound, we have the only five or six reefs that humans can dive on with compressed air.”

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That’s because the other reefs are so deep. Expert sport divers can safely get to reefs located between 25 to 35 metres in depth.

The Hecate Strait reefs, which are located more than 160 kilometres from shore, make it much easier for scientists to study. The Vancouver Aquarium recently received federal funding to study the reefs and have learned that warming waters caused by El Niño events cause the sponges to die.

But researchers say it doesn’t necessarily end there.

“Any portion that’s still alive just starts springing back when the conditions get better, which may be true during El Niño,” Marliave said.

But is the same true when they are damaged by fishing gear and prawn traps? Or what about the impact of climate change, which unlike El Nino, does not disappear after a few months.

“We’re just going to have to keep our eyes peeled and be very careful about how we observe things because we really don’t know,” Marliave said.

Fortunately for the researchers, they have many people helping them. Initially wanting to keep the locations secret, the biologists now realize it’s better to get the word out. And the diving community is onboard with learning about the reef sites and how to swim in the areas without causing damage.

“The fishing community was getting away with saying that there’s nothing down there and they’re not doing any damage,” Marliave said. “And the public doesn’t understand that these exist. If you don’t understand it’s there, why would you care?”

But learning this is the only place in the world these fossils have survived, scientists are hoping people pick up the gauntlet and help be their guardians.

~with files from Linda Aylesworth and The Canadian Press