Douglas C. Miller, an associate professor at the University of Delaware's College of Marine and Earth Studies, said the sponge is being sent to an expert for identification. Miller says previous research on the bay bottom found worm colonies that build reef-like structures, but not the sponges recently found.
The $167,000 research project is designed to learn more about what lives on the bay bottom.
The project is being conducted by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, state officials in Delaware and New Jersey and researchers from the College of Marine and Earth Studies of the University of Delaware and Rutgers University.
