SponGES team leader Jasper de Goeij (UvA) is one of the 325 researchers receiving the prestigious ERC Starting Grant in 2016! The grant will support an edge-research project entitled “SPONGE ENGINE: Fast and Efficient Sponge Engines Drive and Modulate the Food Web of Reef Ecosystems” and will investigate the role played by sponges (Porifera) in supporting a variety of reef ecosystems, from tropical to deep-sea ones. The final aim is to unveil a completely new type of food web(s), and to understand the interactions within larger marine systems. Of course, this new project will also directly complement research carried out in the frame of SponGES. Well done Jasper!