Animal Diversity:Animal Diversity:Sponges & Sponges & Cnidarians Cnidarians Ivaylo Danailov, Boris Bozhinov 10/7

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SpongesSponges

Porifera – sponge;

Symetry : A sponge has either radial symmetry or is asymmetrical;

Approximately 635 MYO;

About 550 MY ago, humans shared common ancestor.

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http://dj003.k12.sd.us/images/sponge_haliclona_bay2k.jpg

http://www.inkycircus.com/jargon/images/sponge_2.jpg

http://www.seasky.org/reeflife/sea2a.html

Moreover...Moreover...The sponge’s body is a hollow tube

with many pores or openings. Its skeleton is made of lime or silicon;

It takes all the food and water it needs through the water that enters its spores;

The sponge takes in water through its pores and and uses the oxygen in it. In more advanced forms thera are canals that move the water to all throughout the sponge. (1,3)

Reproduction Reproduction Asexual ;By budding: produce gemmules

(survival pod) which get moved around by the waves or by the predators and find a suitable place to reattach.

Sexual;Sponges are hermaphrodites;The sponge produces sperm which

later is realeased in the water until it finds another sponge of the same species. (1)

Life CycleLife CycleMost sponges live for only a couple of years,

but thera are so tropical ones that can exist more than 200 years.

Most species release their sperm in the water and it flows until it reaches the eggs of another sponge of the same species. Then the egg grows inside the sponge untill they hatch.

There are some sponges that release thier fertilized eggs in water. There are 4 types but all are a ball of cells that have cilia or flagellae to move in the water. They swim a couple of days until they find good place to settle. (1,4)

Food...om...nom...n0m...Food...om...nom...n0m...The food enters through the sponge’s

water flow system of canals and pores;Food bigger than 50 micrometers is

consumed by phagocytosis(engulfing and internally digested).

Food b/w 0.5 – 50 micrometers is captured in the ostia(openings) and is consumed by the sponge.

Food smaller than 0.5 micrometers enters the ostia and is consumed by the choanocytes(internal cells that create the water flow and filter the nutrients ) . (1,4)

RepresentativesRepresentativesTube Sponge

(Callyspongia vaginalis)Most common sponge to be found. Has long tube-shaped opening

from which it gets the water and food it needs.

It is seen purple, blue, gray and green

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Human interactionsHuman interactionsPeople use sponges to decorate

aquariums and fisk tanks. Also they are used as

sponges(we wash oursels with them).

Used for padding for helmets, portable drinking utensils and municipal water filters (1)

Cnidaria Phylum Characteristics

Includes species such as: jellyfish, hydra, sea anemones and corals.

Cnidaria( Greek cnidos) comes from cnidocytes- unique venom cells found only in the Cnidaria Phylum

Radial Symmetry Closest group to Cnidaria is

CoelenterataFirst fossils date from about 580

million years ago1

Derived Characteristics of Cnidarians

Armed with venomous cells Living in bodies of water Mesoglea( a jelly-like layer) is

sandwiched between two layers of cells They are either medusas or sessile polyps All of them have single opening serving

as mouth and anus simultaneously Tissue level of organization- cells are

combined in groups to form tissues, but no organs are present

The huge majority of them are carnivorous

2,3,1 The picture displays a cnidocyte under electric

microscope

Reproduction of Cnidarians

Occurs in two ways 1. Sexual- often involves polyp

and medusa stages. A larva finds a good place to settle and it metamorphoses into a polyp. As the polyp matures, it splits into several disks from which medusas form. The cycle will repeat itself once these medusas lay eggs and fertilize them by the sperm released form their gonads.

2. Asexual- all cnidarians can asexually reproduce by splitting their body, and regenerating, leaving two separate organisms.

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Locomotion of CnidariansFrom the Cnidarians only jellyfish

are those who can move, as the rest of the species are sessile. Medusas use jet propulsion- they squeeze the water out of the main cavity with the help of their primitive muscles.

The rest of the Cnidarians such as polyps, corals and anemones are sessile. They can perform very limited motion by crawling or creeping. The structure of the anemone in the picture shows that the creature is completely sessile.

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Feeding and Digestion

Cnidarians obtain food by predation, filtering or by symbiosis with other animals

Cnidarians are passive predators, waiting for their food to be caught in their tentacles

They use their stinging cells (cnidocytes) to paralyze or kill their victims

Cnidarians use their tentacles to transport the food into their digestion chamber, where the food is broken down by enzymes produced in gland cells

Indigestible remains leave the organism through the mouth (anus)

Some sessile cnidarians filtrate water in search for microorganisms

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Lion’s Mane MedusaCyanea Capillata

Largest known jellyfish- tentacles reach 35 meters!

Living in cold waters- Arctic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Moves by jet propulsionHas toxic venom but not

strong enough to kill a humanThey reproduce both sexually

and asexuallyFeeds on zooplankton and

small fish1

Portuguese Man o’WarPhysalia physalis

One of the weirdest looking medusas in the world

Only resembles a jellyfish- it is a colony of highly specialized individuals

Lives in tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans. It lives on the surface of the ocean, as it floats because of it’s air bladder.

The medusa is entirely dependant on winds and currents for locomotion

Feeds on small fish and shrimp.1

Cnidarians and HumansCnidarians nowadays are

viewed generally as a menace to people. Their increasing number leads to problems in ecosystems particularly in Japanese Sea.

They have been used in Chinese cuisine for 1800 years. Jellyfish are very low on cholesterol. They are quite tasty as well!

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Fun FactThe only biologically immortal creature in nature!

The small medusa Turritopsis nutricula is the only immortal creature on the planet. It’s life cycle repeats constantly going from polyp to medusa, thus it can live forever. Though it is not protected from predators or diseases, it remains one of the most remarkable creatures on Earth.

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Sources! 1 "Sponge -." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 28 Mar. 2010.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponge#Use>. 2"Sponges Page 1 - Coral Reef Life on Sea and Sky." Sea and Sky -

Explore the Oceans Below and the Skies Above. Web. 28 Mar. 2010. <http://www.seasky.org/reeflife/sea2a.html>.

3"SPONGES." Monroe County Women's Disability Network. Web. 28 Mar. 2010. <http://www.mcwdn.org/Animals/Sponges.html>.

 4"Sponges - EnchantedLearning.com." ENCHANTED LEARNING HOME PAGE. Web. 28Mar. 2010. <http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/sponge/>.

University of California, "Cnidaria". Tree of Life Project. 30th March, 2010 <http://tolweb.org/Cnidaria/2461>. 1

Myers, Phil. "Cnidaria". Encyclopedia of Life. 30th March, 2010 <http://eol.org/pages/1745>. 2

Cnidaria-”Wikipedia” 30th Mar. 2010.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnidaria. 3

"Introduction to Cnidaria". Authors. 30th March, 2010 <http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/cnidaria/cnidaria.html>. 4

Cnidaria pictures taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnidaria