May 4, 2006

The visibility was great on the first dive but dropped dramatically on the second dive as the Elephant Ear Sponges began spawning.

Here you can see the male "smoke" part of the spawning process.

Unlike Barrel Sponges that produce dramatic snow like female spawn, the female Elephant Ear spawn is more subtle and consists of a fine  rust colored powder that is shed from the sponges surface and settles almost unnoticed around the base of the sponge.