Day 10 Porifera
Kingdom Animalia
What makes an animal an animal?
-In your sketchbook
Get into groups and create a definition for an animal
Write down all the characteristics that are necessary to be an animal do not include characteristics that all living things possess only include ones that are specific to animals.
There is not much to the definition of an animal. To be an animal all you need is to be multicellular and a heterotroph.
Animalia - Heterotroph
Plantae - Autotroph
Fungi - Decomposer
Protista - Everything else (all unicellular except the seaweeds)
Watch this short video on what is an animal. Create a box in your sketchbook, title it "What is an Animal?" and take notes. Include an image in your sketchbook.
Most people will group animals into two big classifications
-Invertebrates- Without a backbone
-Vertebrates- With a backbone
Invertebrates
-97% of all species of animal on the planet are invertebrates
-Almost all invertebrates have a marine representative
-If it was not for the insects we would be able to say that the majority of animals are marine!
Phylum Porifera (Sponges)
Characteristics
-Porifera (Translates as Pore Bearers)
-Benthic
-Sessile
-Suspension Feeders
-Filter Feeders
-Mostly Hermaphrodites
-Broadcast spawning
-Planktonic Larva
-Sponges have a rough skeleton made of silica spicules
-There are some sponges however that have a soft calcium based spicule skeleton
-This group is in the Genus Spongia
-The sponges in the Genus Spongia are the ones that humans use as cleaning sponges
-They were also used for many other things like, helmet padding, contraceptive, and painting
-Sponges are one of the oldest animals still extant
-They lived almost 500 million years ago
-They are the simplest animal
-They have no real muscles
-No brain
-No nervous system
-It is hypothesized that they evolved from a colony of single celled protists similar to the choanoflagellida
-A sponge's choanocytes strongly resemble the choanoflagellida
-Sponges use their choanocytes (collar cells) to filter water
-The collar cells move their flagella pumping water through the sponge
-The sponge's cells feed on any particles that were in the water
-Sea sponges are important to the ocean ecosystem because they filter and clean the water
-Sea sponges also have amoebocytes
-Cells that can move through the body of the sponge
Watch this video on the phyla porifera. Create a box in your sketchbook, title it "The Phylum Porifera" and take notes, write down interesting things that you learn from the video and include an image in your sketchbook. Make sure you understand the characteristics of a sea sponge and what a sea sponge is.
Humans and Sea Sponges
-Humans did not know Sea Sponges were an animal until recently. We have been using them for thousands of years but because they do not move or seem to eat we thought they were either a plant or some type of soft rock.
-Throughout history sea sponges have been used for many things
-Sponges to wash the body
-Padding inside Spartan, Greek, and Roman helmets
-Applying makeup
-Tampons
-and many other things
-We still collect them and use them for washing. It was not until the past hundred years that we started using synthetic sponges for washing.
Sponges come in many shapes
Tube sponges
Yellow Tube Sponge
Barrel Sponges
Giant Barrel Sponge
Vase Sponges
Pink Vase Sponge
Rope Sponges
Encrusting Sponges
Kyla Inguito
Kate Terbush
Watch this video on Sea Sponges. Create a box in your sketchbook, title it "Sea Sponges" and take notes, write down interesting things that you learn from the video and include an image in your sketchbook.