User:Lindsey.Goldsby/Spongia officinalis/Katylady1007 Peer Review

Peer review
This is where you will complete your peer review exercise. Please use the following template to fill out your review.

General info

 * Whose work are you reviewing? Lindsey.Goldsby
 * Link to draft you're reviewing: User:Lindsey.Goldsby/sandbox

Lead
Guiding questions:


 * Has the Lead been updated to reflect the new content added by your peer?
 * The Lead was already existing before new content was added
 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Yes
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * Yes, but there is some distracting information listed in the Lead that should be relocated.
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * Yes, but seems to be in process
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?
 * Lead is concise, and simple.

Lead evaluation
Good opening introduction. I did get a little distracted as it starts right into talking about reproduction of the sponge. Perhaps start a new heading talking about Life Stages or Reproduction. This sentence seemed a little out of place, as it then continues on to how the sponge looks (in color) due to age. I would keep in the Lead:

It is dark grey in color when alive and becomes either yellow or brown when dry.

Perhaps elaborate a little more on what it looks like (color, texture), from young to old. I would then start that new heading, and begin with this:

(S. officinalis) is a hermaphroditic animal (that) '''can reproduce asexually by means of budding or through sexual reproduction. Young larvae swim freely until they attach themselves to the sea floor or other adequate ground. After that (after what? elaborate), they start growing slowly. It may take as much as 40 years to grow the size of a baseball.'''

How does the larvae come about? If by sexual reproduction, does the sponge brood the larvae before it is released to swim freely? Are there any further stages that the sponge larvae goes through while growing to the size of a baseball?

You could add the life stages before Anatomy and Morphology, or even make it a subgroup of this heading.

Content
Guiding questions:


 * Is the content added relevant to the topic?
 * Yes, content is relevant to topic
 * Is the content added up-to-date?
 * Yes, looks like some of the sources are being updated or added
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
 * Yes, looks like Behavior, Taxonomy and Human Uses are in progress of being researched.

Anatomy and morphology[ edit]
(what grows? Add S. officinalis here instead of Grows) '''Grows in massive, globular lobes with fine openings which are slightly elevated and have cone-shaped voids (conulose). Oscules (add link here for Oscules) can either be scattered or at the tip of the lobes.'''

Their (use Spongia officinalis instead of Their) have a ectosomal (add link here to ectosomal) '''skeleton. It is comprised of primary and secondary fibers together to form the conulose openings. The (sponge also contains a) choanosomal skeleton, (which) is comprised of a dense, irregular mesh of polygons formed by secondary fibers and primary fibers rise from it. The primary fibers are 50 to 100 nanometers in diameter and are composed of spongin and inclusions such as sand grains and spicules. The secondary fibers are 20 to 35 nanometers in diameter and are composed of only spongin without inclusions.'''

(Move to introduction as this is where you are already talking about color) While alive, they are light grey to black in color.

Distribution and habitat[ edit]
They (use Spongia officinalis instead of They) occur (can be found instead of occur) in the Mediterranean Sea along the coasts of Croatia, Greece, the Aegean islands, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Italy, France and Spain.

They are distributed in shallow water only (remove, only? If it was distributed in shallow water only, you could keep this, but since it is also found down to 100 meters, this should be removed) '''(1 to 10 meters below the surface) down to 100 meters deep. They will grow on littoral (add link to littoral) rocky surfaces, sandy bottoms, and vertical walls in well-oxygenated water.'''

Distribution and habitat is a good topic, flows well, great information, not too wordy.

Tone and Balance
Guiding questions:


 * Is the content added neutral?
 * Yes
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * No
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * No
 * Does the content added attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?
 * No

Sources and References
Guiding questions:


 * Is all new content backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Yes, but looks like some links need to be fixed
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Yes
 * Are the sources current?
 * Yes
 * Check a few links. Do they work?
 * Not all, see note below

Sources and references evaluation
Looks like you are working on some of the references still, make sure to update the red texted ones! I also did a quick check on the reference links on the live article page, there is one that was not working:


 * 1) 10 - Prontzato, Roberto (1999-90) - <485::aid-aqc362>3.0.co;2-n "Sponge-fishing, disease and farming in the Mediterranean Sea

Organization
Guiding questions:


 * Is the content added well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Yes, just a few words that I did not know what they were, but adding links would fix this.
 * Does the content added have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * Some grammar, rewording - see above under Content
 * Is the content added well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?
 * Yes

Organization evaluation
Article draft flows really well. I see you are working on these three topics. I would move the Taxonomy right below the introduction before Anatomy and morphology. Keep Behavior and Human uses in this order. Human uses, then leading to Conservation status is a good flow.

Conservation status[ edit]
Over-harvesting and sponge disease have (change have to has) 'led to a decrease in Mediterranean S. officinalis'' populations. People have harvested sponges in the Mediterranean since ancient times. Growing demand has led to over-exploitation of these sponges though and (remove: through and, end sentence). Beginning around the (change around the to in the) 1980s, populations (of S. officinalis) in the Mediterranean have seriously (change seriously to significantly) declined. In addition to this, a sponge disease caused by pathogenic bacteria and fungi (which bacteria and fungi, are there any specific ones?) have further reduced populations. The bacteria and fungi destroy tissues and fibers of the sponges, making them weak. Due to the regenerative abilities of these sponges, they are able to set aside infected tissue and recover. But, when the effects of the disease are compounded by the effects of over-harvesting, populations have struggled to recover and local extinctions have occurred.'''

Images and Media
Guiding questions: If your peer added images or media


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * Yes, but looks to already be added before peer started editing. Only one image available
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * Yes
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * Yes
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?
 * Yes

Overall impressions
Guiding questions:


 * Has the content added improved the overall quality of the article - i.e. Is the article more complete?
 * Yes
 * What are the strengths of the content added?
 * New topics have been added, this will lead to a strong article flow
 * How can the content added be improved?
 * Rearranging some topics for better flow, added a new topic in regards to life stages/reproduction - see above comments.

Overall evaluation
Overall, great start! I like the additions you are wanting to add to the page, it will make for some good content for someone researching this species. If any of these comments I have made are confusing, please let me know. I am happy to answer any questions.