Lecture 15: Life in the Benthic Realm

Terminology Planktonic, nektonic, benthic, epifaunal, infaunal, sessile, mobile, bathyal, abyssal, abyssopelagic, hadopelagic, supratidal, intertidal, subtidal, spicules, spongin, radial symmetry, encruster, epidermal cell, porocyte, sclerocyte, amoebocyte, mesohyl, choanocyte, polyp, medusa, colonial, solitary, aragonite, octocoral, gorgonin, cnidocyst, nematocyst, zooxanthellae, hematypic, coral bleaching, lophophore, zoid, zooecium, zooaria, polymorphism, pedicle, helically coiled shell, radially coiled shell, exoskeleton, endoskeleton

Dates: none

Review Questions:

Be familiar with the life and feeding modes of all of the invertebrate groups we discussed and their major morphologies, behaviors, life strategies etc.

Why are so many sessile invertebrates radially symmetric?

Explain the three different wall types found in sponges, what’s the point?

Discuss the different roles of the different sponge cells

How do hematypic corals contribute to the creation of different nearshore environments and conditions?

Describe the community created by an innkeeper worm

How does the skeleton of a brachiopod differ from that of a clam?

How do the shells of clams, snails, and nautiloids differ?

Classification:

Phylum Porifera Class Demospongiae (soft sponges) Class Calcarea (calcareous sponges) Class Hexactinellida (glass sponges) Phylum Cnidaria Class Anthozoa -stony corals -sea fans -soft corals -sea anemones -sea pens Phylum Annelida (worms) -bristleworms -innkeeper worm -lugworms -spaghetti worm -feather duster -catworm Phylum Bryozoa (moss-animals) Phylum Mollusca -Class Bivalvia (clams) -Class Gastropoda (snails and slugs) -Class Cephalopoda (squid, octopus, nautiloid) -Class Scaphopoda (tusk shells) -Class Polyplacophora (chitons)