Lab Activity 9.3
Biota 2: Invertebrates Found in Tidepools

  Directions

Study the instructional material below. Be sure to click on each of the photographs for an enlarged view in a separate window. The larger version is necessary to complete the assignment. It opens in a separate window which can be resized by grabbing the bottom right corner and dragging it. It can also be moved by grabbing the top heading bar and dragging it. Be sure to close the extra window by using the X in IBM, or the close box in MAC when you are finished using them.

  Introduction


In this lab activity you will study the invertebrates of tidepools.

Top  Instruction

Use the information below to fill out the checklist of tidepool microhabitats.

Be sure to write about what you are learning in the lab section of your notebook. You will be expected to answer questions about the lab activity during the lab self test and lab quiz. It helps to have your text and coloring books open beside you for support.

 
Supporting Information
Refer to the Assigned Readings Below:
Marine Biology Textbook none
Marine Biology Coloring Book none
 

This picture gallery summarizes the invertebrates found in tidepools at Playa Estacion, Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico.

It should be used to complete lab activity 9.3.

 

Tedania nigrescens
"Fire sponge"
Phylum  Porifera
Class  Demospongiae
Order   Poecilosclerida
Family   Tedaniidae
Morphology A bright red to orange sponge which may or may not have visible excurrent pores (oscula). Varies from encrusting to massive.
Feeding Filter feeding
Defense Unpalatable
Reproduction Spawning
Habitat On rocks in the lower intertidal and subtidal
Distribution Throughout the Gulf of California to Ecuador
Other Handling this sponge may iritate the skin

 

Haliclona permollis
"Wandering sponge"
Phylum  Porifera
Class  Demospongiae
Order   Haplosclerida
Family   Haliclonidae
Morphology A soft, pale rose to vivid purple sponge with regularly spaced excurrent pores (oscula). Forms flat sheets or meandering strands.
Feeding Filter feeding
Defense Unpalatable
Reproduction Asexual budding and sexual spawning
Habitat Rocky shores
Distribution Throughout the world's oceans including the Gulf of California
Other  

 

Aglaophenia diegensis
"Ostrich plume hydroid"
Phylum  Cnidaria
Class  Hydrozoa
Order   Hydroida
Family   Plumulariidae
Morphology Delicate yellowish-tan to brown feather-like plume that grows singly or in small clumps. Each plume has a center ridge to which a few small seed-shaped reproductive bodies are attached. Grows tall to 150 mm.
Feeding All polyps share a common hollow gut for digestion.
Defense Has stinging cells that when touched, are irritating.
Reproduction The thickened parts on the individual stalk indicate mature gonozoids which repture and release medusae into the ocean. When the medusae reproduce, the larvae settle to the bottom, attach and become ostrich plumes again.
Habitat Growing around the edge of a tidepool attached to rocks, shells, ledges, and pilings.
Distribution Alaska to Ecuador and throughout the Gulf of California
Other Most common intertidal hydroid of the Gulf of California

 

Bunodosoma californica
"Warty anemone"
Phylum  Cnidaria
Class  Anthozoa
Order   Actiniaria
Family   Actiniidae
Morphology Large and solitary. Brownish-red or orange - tenacles may be red, brown or green. Its column is covered with bumps or warts randomly placed. 
Feeding Paralyzes its prey with stinging cells in their tentacles.
Defense Can release stinging cells (nematocysts) and will retract when touched.
Reproduction Spawning
Habitat Rocky intertidal areas.
Distribution Gulf of California, Baja ranging to Bahia Magdalena.
Other Perhaps the most abundant large anemone found in the gulf.

 

Phyllactis cocinnata
"Pink sand anemone"
Phylum  Cnidaria
Class  Anthozoa
Order   Actiniaria
Family   Phyllactidae
Morphology The oral surface of this anemone has a circle of short true tentacles surrounded by a ruff or collar resembling a circle of short, fused tentacles. It has a pink or white column which is usually buried in the sand. It has a large pedal disc which is generally attached to a buried rock.
Feeding Paralyzes its prey with stinging cells in their tentacles.
Defense Can release stinging cells (nematocysts) and it can withdraw folding its ruff inward. The bottom of the ruff is covered by adhering sand.
Reproduction Spawning
Habitat In cracks and crevices of tidepools on rocky shores where sand is abundant.
Distribution Throughout the Gulf of California
Other  

 

Palythoa ignota

"Mat anemone"
Phylum  Cnidaria
Class  Anthozoa
Order   Zoanthidea
Family   

Morphology Small colonial anemone with very short tentacles on margin of oral disk. They are brownish, with a tinge of green in the mouth area because of tiny algae living there. Mat forming.
Feeding Paralyzes its prey with stinging cells (nematocysts). Expands at night to feed.
Defense Stinging cells are used for defense as well as feeding
Reproduction Sexual spawning to found new colonies and sexual budding to form new members of the colony
Habitat On rocks in the low intertidal and subtidal, permanent tidepools, and drainage channels.
Distribution Northern Gulf of California.
Other Forms a solid carpet on the reefs in the low intertidal.

 

Zoanthus danae
"Green mat anemone"
Phylum  Cnidaria
Class  Anthozoa
Order   Zoanthidea
Family   
Morphology Tiny colonial anemone with thinly set individuals. Forms a solid carpet on the reefs in the low intertidal. They are bright green because of tiny algae living in their flesh.
Feeding Gets food from microscopic, symbiotic algae living inside it. Can also paralyzes prey with stinging cells (nematocysts).
Defense Stinging cells are used for defense as well as feeding
Reproduction Sexual spawning to found new colonies and sexual budding to form new members of the colony
Habitat On rocks and on the sponge Geodia in the lower intertidal.
Distribution Gulf of California south to Panama
Other  

 

Porites californica

"Green coral"
Phylum  Cnidaria
Class  Anthozoa
Order   Madreporaria
Family   Poritidae

Morphology This stony coral forms a thick crust or columnar-like growth on rocks. The live colony is a bright green and the underlining dead skeletal mass is white. Five to seven inch colonies are scattered and do not form reefs.
Feeding Gets food from microscopic, symbiotic algae living inside it. Can also paralyzes prey with stinging cells (nematocysts).
Defense Stinging cells are used for defense as well as feeding
Reproduction Sexual spawning to found new colonies and sexual budding to form new members of the colony
Habitat On rocks in the intertidal and shallow subtidal
Distribution Throughout the Gulf of California south to Panama
Other  

 

Lophogorgia rigida
"Purple gorgonian"
Phylum  Cnidaria
Class  Anthozoa
Order   Gorgonacea
Family   Gorgoniidae
Morphology Purple, branched, soft coral. Branching mostly in one plane to form a fan shaped colony. Branches bear, small, white polyps (individuals of the colony).
Feeding Carnivorous on zooplankton
Defense Stinging cells are used for defense as well as feeding
Reproduction Sexual spawning to found new colonies and sexual budding to form new members of the colony
Habitat Rocky subtidal reefs and lower intertidal tidepools
Distribution  
Other  

 

Megalomma splendida
"Orange feather duster worm"
Phylum  Anellida
Class  Polychaeta
Order   Sedentaria
Family   Sabellidae
Morphology Slender segmented worm about 2 inches long with a feathery crown that varies in color from orange to purple. Lives in a coarsely textured tube of sand grains and mucus cement.
Feeding Filter feeding using their ciliated feathery crowns.
Defense Expose only their feeding crowns which they can retract rapidly into their tubes.
Reproduction Separte sexes. Females produce egg masses during the summer that are brooded inside their tubes.
Habitat Rocky shore tidepools and shallow subtidal
Distribution California, throughout the Gulf of California and south along the Mexican coast
Other  

 

Paguristes anahuacus
"Blue-eyed hermit crab"
Phylum  Arthropoda
Class  Crustacea
Order   Decapoda
Family   Diogenidae
Morphology Cream colored hermit crab with hairy, equal sized claws, and blue tipped antennae. Young have blue eyes.
Feeding Filter feeders and scavengers
Defense Occupies the shell of a dead snail
Reproduction Separate sexes. Females brood eggs on pleopods until they hatch.
Habitat Under boulders and on the surfaces of rocky shores in the lower intertidal, in tidepools and in the shallow subtidal
Distribution Gulf of California
Other Second most abundant rocky shore hermit crab in the Gulf of California. Gregarious.

 

Alpheus californiensis
"Snapping shrimp"
Phylum  Arthropoda
Class  Crustacea
Order   Decapoda
Family   Alpheidae
Morphology Colorful, fast, backwards swimming shrimp that are easily identified by their one large claw that is modified for making loud clicking or popping noises.
Feeding Snap large claw to stun prey. Use claw to grab small animals or morsels of food floating by.
Defense Hard shell on body (after molting, the body is soft. The shell hardens after a few hours, however, during that time they are vulnerable).
Reproduction Separate sexes. Females brood eggs on pleopods until they hatch.
Habitat Lives in tunnels under rocks in a sandy substrate.
Distribution Southern California to the Gulf of California, common at Puerto Penasco
Other If large claw is pulled off the other hand will develop a large claw.

 

Epialtus minimus
"Sargassum spider crab"
Phylum  Arthropoda
Class  Crustacea
Order   Decapoda
Family   Majidae
Morphology Small majid crab with an elongated, flattened and bifurcate rostrum in the males but a shorter, rounded and more truncate rostrum in females. Dorsal surface is reddish-yellow, occasionally spotted with brown.
Feeding  
Defense Cryptic coloration and shape matches the Sargassum they live on.
Reproduction Separate sexes. Females brood eggs on pleopods until they hatch.
Habitat Commomly found clinging to bunches of Sargassum especially where this seaweed forms large beds or mats.
Distribution Lajuna Ojo de Liebre (Scammon's Lagoon) and throughout the Gulf of California, south at least as far as Acapulco.
Other  


Lab Activity 9.3 Biota 1