Biogeography of marine sponges (Phylum Porifera); studies in the Eastern Pacific

Sponges (Phylum Porifera) constitute one of the more diverse and abundant aquatic animalgroups on the planet. In the last decades they have gained great interest due to their evolutionary, ecology and economic importance (e.g.,  biotechnology). Besides these features, sponges are of much interest to biogeography, because they have sessile adults and larvae with limited dispersal, which allows studying the history of their dispersal. Despite their importance, the knowledge about sponge distribution patterns remains poorly development. The goal of this review is to introduce the biogeography knowledge state, as well as give an actual panorama of their situation in the eastern Pacific. In general, lack of good knowledge about Porifera fauna in this region difficult to establish biogeographical relationships. During the last years an intense campaign has began in order to develop the basic taxonomic knowledge, however, the progress is not enough, there for it is important to continue the development of studies about the distribution patterns of Porifera. These investigations along with the implementation of molecular markers in the systematics and biogeography of Porifera, allow in the near future use the sponges within biogeographic models. This will give us greater insight about the patterns ofdistribution and speciation in the oceans, particularly in the geographical region of the eastern Pacific.