Captivating Cnidarians
Hannah Baskin
Introduction
Close your eyes and imagine you are a large sea anemone, attached to a piece of coral in the Great Barrier Reef. Your jelly-like tentacles sway along with the movement of the ocean. Suddenly, a tasty fish swims by. You extend your tentacles and, ZAP, you sting him with your toxin-filled appendages. Sea anemones are truly fascinating cnidarians with an exciting life cycle, a marvelous way of moving, and a stunning appearance.
Lovely Life Cycle
Did you know that there are over 1,000 species of sea anemones world wide?And different species of sea anemones have different methods of reproduction. In most species, the sexes are separate. First, sperm and eggs are usually let out into the water where the fertilization process takes place. Next, the fertilized egg develops into a planula ( a free-swimming larvae) and settles to the ocean floor to develop into a single anemone. However, some sea anemones reproduce asexually, or by splitting into pieces. One way this can happen is by splitting longitudinally; they tear themselves apart lengthwise. Another way sea anemones can reproduce asexually is by using pedal laceration, where small pieces break off of the basal disk and grow into tiny anemones. A third method these relatives of coral use to reproduce is called budding. This style of asexual reproduction involves part of an anemone protruding and breaking off, forming another anemone. In general, shallow water anemones are smaller and reproduce asexually, whereas those in deep water are larger and reproduce sexually. Sea anemones are thought to be long lived and can be around from anywhere between 60-80 years.
Magnificent Movement
One of the most engaging things to learn about the sea anemone is the way they move. Though they are not fast and swift swimmers like sharks, or creepy crawlers like octopuses, their unique way of moving is truly magnificent. The get around by sliding along or making slow movement with their pedal/basal disk or they swim. Most anemones seldom move. Some may glide very slowly or move in a somersaulting fashion. Some species have no disk so instead they bury themselves in the sand or mud, showing only their mouths. Most of the time, sea anemones attach themselves to rock or coral. Yet, some anemones do not and instead, they float upside-down in the water with the help of a gas chamber in the basal disk. Sea anemones spend most of their lives in one place and when they do move, it’s only three to four inches per hour.
Beautiful Body Structure
Can you imagine being so attractive that people often thought you were a beautiful flower? Well, that is life for the stunning sea anemone every day. Sea anemones come in various sizes, ranging from less than 1.25 centimeters (0.5 inches) to nearly two meters (six feet) in diameter. As previously stated in the paragraph about reproduction, the sea anemones are bigger in the north and smaller in the south. Would you believe that sea anemones can have over 100 tentacles? These stinging machines come in a variety of colors such brown, red, orange, and white. They can also be a mix of colors. The sea anemone stings its prey, such as fish and worms, and uses its tentacles to push it into its mouth which is in the middle of all those tentacles. In addition to its slimy tentacles, another interesting thing about the body structure of a sea anemone is that it is an invertebrate. This means it has no backbone. If you’ve ever seen a sea anemone, you’d know it comes in a variety of colors, including, yellow, green, and blue. Without a doubt, sea anemones have a beautiful and interesting body structure.
Conclusion
Can you imagine coming face to face with one of these outstanding organisms? They are actually pretty common, considering they live on both coasts of North America and along the Great Barrier Reef. If you ever did spy one of the creatures, you would know all about their life cycle, movement, and appearance.
Think Tank
Here you can test your knowledge on a quizzle, read a bit of peaceful poetry, enhance your vocabulary on a wonderful wordwall, and have fun reading a creative comic.
Go Fish
I had so much fun designing my fish tank with the budget of $250! For the tank itself, I went with a sky blue theme. First, I bought a 20 gallon aquarium, a filter, and three filter cartridges that cost me $62.45. Next, I picked out a pastel blue gravel and pool colored gems to put on top which cost me $8.48. Then, I purchased some salt because my fish tank is a habitat to salt water fish, a blue thermometer, and some fish food which cost me $19.07. After that, it was time to decorate my aquarium. So I added a light blue bloom plant with pink flowers, a vibrant green and blue ombre plant, a light grey rock hideaway, a greek ruins temple, and a light blue reversible background which cost me $38.40. Finally, it was time to get some saltwater fish. I started of by getting a spotted grey, black, blue, and yellow Valentine Puffer, that is 1.5-2.5 inches and cost $15.19. Next, I bought a stunning, neon colored, Green Mandarin Goby that was 1.5-2.5 total inches and cost me $13.59. After that, I purchased a bright orange Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse that was 2-3 inches and cost $37.59. I also bought a hot pink Strawberry Dottyback and an electric blue Blue Damsel which were both about 2 inches and together cost me $13.82. Finally, I picked out a Lemon Peel Angel which was 2.5-4.5 inches and cost me $27.99. Together, all the fish cost me $108.13 and the added price of everything was $244.23 which was less than my $250 budget.
Sea Anemone Fighting Video
Watch this awesome anemone go into battle against a leather star! Sea anemones normally don't move much but I think we've established that this particular anemone is far from normal!
Swimming anemone
Diorama
In my diorama, there is a green sea anemone, a red, orange, and yellow seahorse, an orange clown fish, an orange and pink starfish, a green turtle, a pink jellyfish, a blue dolphin, light green coral, a grey oyster, and some seaweed