Saturday, March 24, 2007

Living things are classified in a hierarchical taxonomy. The basic levels of this hierarchy are:
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

A popular mnemonic to remember the above list is "King Phillip Came Over From Great Spain".

We have been studying the Animal Kingdom.
Today we willl look at the different Phyla that include invertebrate animals.

INVERTEBRATES

What do these guys have to do with
Biology????

They don't have a SPINE!

Porifera: sponges


1.) How many species of sponges are found in the world? (tell about where they live)

2.) Explain what cellular-level organization means?


3.) Sketch the body plan of a sponge (as seen on "how sponges are built" link above)

Cnidarians: Jellyfish, coral, hydra & sea anemones

Click here for information on cnidarians

1.) What are the two basic body forms of cnidarians?


2.) What are the common names of some of the animals in this phylum?

Platyhelminthes: The flatworms

Flatworms
1.) Explain what bilateral symmetry is all about.


2.) What was most surprising to you after seeing the pictures?


3.) How many known species of tapeworms are there?
4.) What is each segment used for in the tapeworm?

Mollusks (soft bodied invertebrates)

Mollusks

1.) Explain about two adaptations of mollusks?
2.) Explain where the mantle is and what it does for mollusks.

Annelids: The segmented worms

The bristle worm’s hollow bristles are reported to be venomous. Stings may result in intense skin swelling, with a burning sensation or numbness. The bristles can penetrate thin gloves, so these worms should be handled carefully or, more appropriately, not at all.

Annelids have bodies that are segmented. Within the body of the segmented worm are rather elaborate and well developed systems of organs. There is a circulatory system with five "aortic arches" which act as a heart to keep the blood moving in the worm. There is a digestive tract that begins with a prostomium with a mouth, a muscular pharynx, an esophagus, a crop for storage of food, a gizzard for breaking food down (much as a stomach acts in humans) and a small intestine where the nutrients are absorbed into the blood for delivery to cells. There is a small brain on the dorsal side of the pharynx that connects to the ventral nerve cord that runs the length of the worm. Worms are hermaphroditic (have the organs that produce eggs and others which produce sperm). Earthworms have a clitellum that slips off of the worm and becomes a brood chamber for developing young.
1.) What are a few common members of this group?
2.) What do leaches commonly eat?

Echinoderms: Spiny skinned invertebrates

Click here for pictures of echinoderms

1.) What are three ways you would be able to recognize an echinoderm if you found one at the tide pools.

2.) What factors influence how fast they grow and how big echinoderms become.

3.) Name four common types of echinoderm.

4.) What is the maximum age of echinoderms?

Arthropods: animals with exoskeletons & jointed appendages









What is for dinner?
Crab legs??
Make sure you don't eat his relative!!
Click here to find out about arthropods
AND - Click here for more about arthropods

1.) Explain one reason that arthropods are such a wildly successful group of animals.
2.) Read about the morphology of arthropods and tell 7 interesting adaptations of appendages in arthropods.
3.) What other phylum is closely related to arthropods? (Explain your answer)

How do mosquitos work?
More about mosquitos

4.) Why does a rainy season set the stage for a mosquito infestation?
5.) Explain the life cycle of mosquitos.
6.) What can you do if you want to reduce the mosquito population?

Millipedes and Centipedes
Centipedes

7.) Why are centipedes and millipedes not considered insects?
8.) What is the everage length of a centipede? What is the longest centipede?