Animals you may find on the discs Predators Many of the predators you will find on the discs are not sessile. They actively swim to the discs or they are carried there by currents. The sessile predators are mainly polyps, which feed on zooplankton particularly on the larvae of other organisms living on the disc. The predators can regulate the growth of some species on the discs, affecting species richness and distribution.
Sagartiogeton sp. Laomedea sp. Clava multicornis
Phylum: Cnidaria Phylum: Cnidaria Phylum: Cnidaria Common name: Sea anemone Common name: Hydroid Common name: Club-headed hydroid Diet: Fish, snails, crustaceans, zooplankton Diet: Zooplankton Diet: zooplankton Recruitment: Summer Recruitment: all year Recruitment: Summer Others: solitary; semi-sessile; they can move Others: found abundant on the sides of the Others: found on mussels and macroalgae; around slowly detaching their basal plates discs; has no medusa stage may vary in colour from white to pink
Aurelia aurita Facelina sp. Asterias rubens
Phylum: Cnidaria Phylum: Mollusca Phylum: Echinodermata Common name: Moon jelly (polyp stage) Common name: Sea slug Common name: Common starfish Diet: small invertebrates Diet: sponges, hydroid, bryozoans Diet: Barnacles, mussels, snails, sponges Recruitment: Autumn, summer Recruitment: Summer Recruitment: Summer Others: adults are free-swimming; can Others: some feed on only one kind of Others: capable of regeneration; regulates tolerate low oxygen concentrations prey species diversity in some ecosystems
Carcinus maenas Crangon crangon Gammarus sp.
Phylum: Arthropoda Phylum: Arthropoda Phylum: Arthropoda Common name: Shore crab Common name: Common shrimp Common name: Scud; Side swimmer Diet: bivalves, polychaetes, small crustaceans Diet: omnivores; small fish, zooplankton Diet: omnivore; barnacles, sponges, algae Recruitment: Summer Recruitment: Summer Recruitment: early spring Others: can tolerate a wide range of salinities; Others: also eat dead organisms; Others: can exhibit other forms of feeding can range in colour from green, to blue, to red. scavengers; sometimes cannibalistic behaviour
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