The echinoderm specimens collected during the Belgian/South Africa expeditions were lodged in the Museum for Central Africa in Brussels and a trip, sponsored by the Global Taxonomic Initiative in Belgium, was undertaken to answer these questions and a number of others pertaining to the brittle stars that had being collected. The Scanning Electron Microscope images (Picture 6) show the dental plates from epizoica (left) and an adult Blotch-star brittle star (right). The brittle stars come out at night and scavenge all over the bottom of the tank and on the live rock looking for bits and pieces of things to eat. Eric J. Vallender, in Progress in Brain Research, 2019 4.4 Parental care. Among the organisms that remain with the eggs or offspring, one particular behaviour is striking—that of nest construction to keep the eggs and larvae in one spot and to protect them against predators as well as such environmental factors as sun and rain.… Because they flower regularly, year after year, many cacti produce thousands of seeds before dying. Was it just being baby-sat by a different species? Once you have completed the table, be sure to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each reproductive strategy. The expedition reported 51 new distribution records bringing the total known echinoderm species occurring on the KZN coast to 181. In addition, epizoica had arm spines that had tiny hooks which are thought to assist the animal in holding and clinging (Picture 5). Reef Tank Compatible? Brittle stars (Ophiuroidea) are a group of echinoderms that resemble starfish. If you can see one of their arms poking out of a cave or wherever they're hiding, place the food as close a possible to them. Like other brittle starfish varieties and some serpent stars, it is a nocturnal scavenger that spends most the daylight hours hidden under rocks, but ventures out to feed at night on detritus. Indo-West Pacific region but is not found in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf or the north-western parts of the Indian Ocean. Hand each pair: » The Investigating Reproductive Strategies worksheet (page S-1) » 2 organism descriptions - one for an organism that reproduces sexually and one for an organism that reproduces either asexually or using both strategies - (see chart below). Don't use any copper based meds, keep nitrate levels low too. Was the smaller brittle star a new species? In the picture shown below, a brittle star is almost completely concealed under a sponge. Prior to the study by the Belgians, the only record of this species from southern Africa was Mozambique but is now known to occur as far south as Aliwal Shoal. The Scanning Electron Microscope images (Picture 6) show the dental plates from epizoica (left) and an adult Blotch-star brittle star (right). The saguaro cactus (Carnegiea … This led us to believe that epizoica was indeed a baby brittle star. Updated August 5, 2019 Author: Mike - FishLore Admin Social Media:. Scientific Name : Ophiuroidea spp. “Wages not counted. Their long, thin arms—usually five and often forked and spiny—are distinctly set off from the small disk-shaped body. When fission happens, the brittle star breaks down the middle of its disk to make two identical 3-armed halves. They can occur on sand, mud, and rock, especially in areas with an abundance of prey. To identify brittle stars, taxonomists use a variety of morphological features such as the arms, jaws, disc shape, disc armament and arm spines. The amount of demineralized water added was corrected for water content in brittle star tissue. Updated August 5, 2019Author: Mike - FishLore AdminSocial Media: The Brittle Starfish is one of those reef invertebrates that is often hidden away during the day. Parental care is a behavioural and evolutionary strategy adopted by some animals, involving a parental investment being made to the evolutionary fitness of … The dental plates, the structure on which the teeth lie, are unique for each species and using a Scanning Electron Microscope, the difference between Ophiocoma species could be clearly seen. Sexually: At certain times of … One of the many aims of the trip was to make the first biodiversity assessment of the echinoderms in an area which is historically known to be under-sampled by biologists. Brittle star samples (0.15–0.24 g dry wt. Sunflower stars and about 20 other sea star species were devastated by sea star wasting.. 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