Orange Elephant Ear Sponge

Photo: Mike G. Rutherford · CC BY-NC

The cave walls at Gasparee support spectacular growths of orange and red encrusting sponges, which thrive in the low-light, high-current cave entrances. These sponges filter enormous volumes of water and provide structural habitat for the shrimp and small fish that colonize the cave walls. Their presence indicates excellent water quality in the Gulf of Paria micro-environment around the island.