Today you will continue your observations of Porifera and Cnidaria and view specimens of
Ctenophora:
1. Porifera:
Before tackling new material, examine your sponge cultures. Take another photograph at low and
high power. Compare your photographs in your journal from those taken of the new cultures last
week. If your culture failed and some do despite all precaution, please use one of your classmates
photographs that was more successful.
We are receiving some material, the day of the lab. If it does not arrive in time for the morning lab,
we need to adjust schedule so look at the table below and also listen carefully for your laboratory
instructions.
Scenario one: All specimens expected arrive.
One pair at table, do ctenophores, a
One pair at table do mapping of Hydractinia
echinata colonies on hermit crabs. b
Pairs switch
Every one does classroom exercise on anemones and nematocysts. c
One pair compares octocorals to anemones.,
One pair review pennaria from last week and
d
compare new hydroid to it. e
Pairs switch
Scenario two: If Hydractinia echinata does not come in.
. One pair at table, do ctenophores
One pair compares octocorals to anemones.
One pair review Pennaria from last week and
compare new hydroid to it
Pairs switch
C. Every one does classroom exercise on anemones and nematocysts
a. Ctenophores
Background information:
Ctenophorans range in size from only half a centimeter in length to over 1 meter long. Ctenophorans
either drift with the current or are weak swimmers using ctene (comb plates) consisting of hundreds of
partially fused cilia arranged along eight longitudinal comb rows. Comb jellies are predators, and their
tentacles are armed with unique, sticky colloblast cells that capture small invertebrate prey. Once
trapped, either muscle in the core of the tentacle contracts to pull food toward the mouth.
Ctenophorans are often found in perpetually dark parts of the oceans, and like other animals that
inhabit this environment, the use of light bioluminescence has become an important tool for attracting
prey, signaling danger, or finding a mate. The light observed in this species is actually from the
movement of the ctenes which refracts light as the animal moves.
Obtain a dish containing a comb jelly . Fed it a few copepods or other food available. They may not
feed. Do not use much light or you will overheat and kill these animals. You can watch the shrimp
move down the gut. Then turn off all lights of the microscope, light from the bottom but dimly against
a dark plate, or from above but only with very dim light. The cilia will refract light and you should be
entertained by the light show of blue, yellow and red refractive waves of light moving down the cilia.
These are delicate animals and we do not want to stress them, so keep the lights low unless filming
and try not to overfeed. Each pair should try for a quick movie of their specimen either feeding
or just record the light show caused by their movement. Check periodically with your lab
instructor so she can add fresh seawater after feedings. Record your observations in your
journal.
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b. Obtain a hermit crab or at least a shell containing a colony of Hydractinia echinata.
Identify if you can at least four types of individuals. Draw the different individuals you see.
Graph the colony indicating the position of the various individuals to each other. Do not
attempt in this drawing to show each individual but do indicate relative numbers and overall pattern.
Watch carefully for epifauna. Various tubed annelids often live among the hydroids. Although
considered a plus for the annelids that are protected, this relationship may be a minus for the hydroid
colony as I have seen the worms steal food from the hydroids. Also look for other hydroids that may
be competing with Hydractinia echina for space. Colonies that have to share their shell with these
competitors may have different numbers of different individual or place their individuals in different
positions relative to the intruding species. If you had to design a colony where would you place
reproductives relative to defense individuals? Would the placements vary dependent on whether
competitors were present or absent?
Colonies are often male or female (or more strictly speaking have only male or female gonozoids).
Can you tell whether the colony on your shell is a male or female colony? Construct hypotheses
regarding different conditions and then see if the distribution supports your hypotheses. Each pair
should collect data on one shell.
Another diagram that divides the colony into non reproductive zooids and female and male
reproductive zooids.
Shells for your to use to plot distribution of different zooids. Choose the shell shapes that
best fit the shell of your crab.
Shape one: Most common shape
Are there any polyps on the underside of the shell? Use the diagram below.
Shape two, front, side views and ventral (bottom) of shell
Shape three:
Exercise four Hydractinia echinata
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Exercise 5-6: We do have several species of Anthozoa:
While many members of the phylum Cnidaria have a life cycle that includes both medusoid
and polyp stages, sea anemones are exclusively polyp.
You will work closely with a sea anemone and then examine two species of octocorals.
Exercise c: Sea Anemones: The external morphology of anemones is limited to a column; an
oral disk, in the center of which the mouth is located, and on which the tentacles are located; and
either a pedal disk, that affixes the anemone to the substrate, or a bulb-like physa, used by burrowing
anemones to anchor in soft substrate.
.
Aiptasia pallida, or related species, has long tentacles and demonstrates partial retraction. Because
they reproduce by budding, a few well-fed individuals will soon multiply to hundreds and cover the
rocks like soft brown fuzz.
Obtain and examine a specimen of Aiptasia pallida. This anemone, contains symbiotic
dinoflagellates or unicellular algae.
Apitasia is fairly transparent and so you should be able to see the food moving down into the gut. It
feeds on most motile organisms. It will often take animals twice or three times its size.
Feed your specimen a small piece of fish food.
How close is the prey before the anemone response to it. Do the tentacles move toward the prey or
does the prey have to contact the tentacles before the anemone responds. How does the sea
anemone move the prey animal into the digestive cavity? Can you see any other details of internal
anatomy in your specimen? Record your observations in your journal.
Pairs should exchange information and then all should be able to look at cnidoblast cells at
the same time.
Your teaching assistant will choose a specimen to use to examine the stinging cells or cnidoblasts.
Obtain a tentacle or two and place under 100 or 200 x. Look closely at the surface to see the
conspicuous spherical nematocysts. These are the explosive capsules of cnidocytes. The
cnidocytes themselves will probably not be discernable but their capsules are abundant and
conspicuous. You may also see some yellow to yellow orange circular cells that are spilling out of
the tentacles. These are symbionts, or dinoflagellates found in this species.
Some pairs may want to place the acontia or white protective threads that appear when the anemone
feels threatened, (as when its tentacles are cut off). Anemones can have cnidocytes lining the
inside of the gastrovascular cavity and their acontia.
Look at one of the tentacles with 400X. Note the different sizes of nematocysts. Most of the
nematocysts will be intact and unexploded but some will have discharged. Find some of the large
ones, focus carefully, and look for a coiled thread inside the capsule. If the thread is present, the
nematocyst is undischarged. Look around for some discharged nematocysts. These will look
quite different. They are obviously empty, having everted their thread, which can be clearly seen
extending away from one end of the empty capsule. With careful focusing and light adjustment you
can also see the formidable barbs at the base of the thread adjacent to the empty capsule.
Place a drop of 1% acetic acid beside the coverslip and draw it under while watching through the
microscope. The acid may stimulate the discharge of many of the nematocysts and, if you are
fortunate, you may actually see one of them discharge as you watch. A drop of toluene blue
applied the same way will stain the nematocysts, making them easier to see.
Obtain (a.) a photograph of a tentacle, discharged nematocysts and symbionts. Identify
symbiotic algae and nematocysts on the photograph.
Exercise d Included in the Anthozoa are the true corals.
We usually do not get representatives of the true corals but closely related to them are the
gorgonians.
Gorgonians,
Gorgonians and sea pansies are also known as octocorals, so named
because the individual polyps have eight tentacles that they use to feed. If you look closely at
the branches of a soft coral (gorgonians are probably the most obvious), you may see the tiny
tentacles of the individual polyps. Each of these tentacles may looks like it is feathered
because it can bears numerous outfoldings. The main purpose of this exercise is for you to
observe these animals and be able to compare them to the hydroid colonies you observed
previously (Hydractinia and any hydroids available today), Many gorgonians, sea pansies or
pens look superficially like hydroid colonies, but on close examination, you can see their more
“sea anemone” or anthozoan morphology. One of the lab questions on the next exam will
focus on distinguishing between the two.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Available Octocorals
Please examine two specimens.
Leptogorgia virgulata
This is also a tree-shaped gorgonian with colorful ( colors can range from tan to purple)
branches rising in all directions from a short, main trunk
Parazoanthus sp. these are large sponge zooanthids that grow symbiotically with
sponge species.
Renilla mulleri, a sea pansy,
This colony looks like a bit of a sponge with fuzz on it. Polyps are vividly luminescent
when handled in the dark. It as the sea pen has a peduncle or base that anchors it to
the substrate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Look at a portion of the available Gorgonian colony and a Sea pansy or fan under the
dissecting scope. Be patient as it may take a while for the individuals to relax and expand.
Focus on the tentacles and see if you can observe their “pinnate” nature. Count number of
tentacle, etc. a. Obtain a photograph and indicate “octocoral” features, b. Compare the
structure of these colonies to that of an hydrozoan colony and Aiptasia in your journal.
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e. Cnidaria: Colonies of various hydrozoans.
1. You will continue to look at variation among the class Hydrozoa. In all specimens
examined, you should determine (if only from the web) what life stages to expect and
whether the colonies exhibit polymorphisms.
Each table should compare 2 hydroids
Use Pennaria as your first specimens. Then compare overall growth form to either Campanullaria or
Sertularia. Pennaria is the hydroid you looked at last week, so if those photographs are good use
them.
a. Take photographs of the different types of polyps present.
In your journal compare and
contrast the different types of polyps found.
It looks like in Tubularia, feeding polyps prevail and in Pennaria, reproductive individuals prevail. It
looks like some of the reproductive polyps are developing medusa, although medusa are far from
being released. If medusa are present be careful, use gloves, as all medusae sting, although most of
the available species, produce medusa so small, you probably will not be able to feel their sting.
b. Film feeding in Pennaria
c . Characterize the shape of the colony and spacing of feeding versus other types of zooids.
Are all the gonozoids at the colony edges or in the middle of the colony? Are zooids only found at the
terminal tips of hydroids or are they spaced regularly on the branching stolons.
Typical life stages of hydroids
Specimens
Pennaria spp
In Pennaria tiarella, medusa buds develop and are retained along sides of hydranths.. Generally
colonies are male or female, although the medusae of both sexes look alike and are difficult to
distinguish. In other species, medusa may be released and develop from gonophores produced at the
edges of branches.
Sertularia
This species is often limited in nature to area of strong flow. he main stem gives rise to side branches
of determinate length which branch dichotomously. They bear hydrothecae which are arranged
subalternately along opposite sides of the branches, turned slightly towards the distal end of the
colony. The outer part of each hydrotheca is turned slightly away from the branch. Gonothecae are
borne abundantly on these side branches
Obelia or Campanullaria. Obelia forms a long white branching colony more than ten
centimeters long. The polyps of Obelia are housed in transparent cups for protection. When touched
or exposed to the microscope's light the tentacles will withdraw into the cups. This species is the only
one in the laboratory that will produce obvious medusae, which are released from the gonozooids,
producing free-swimming male and female medusae velum with gonads, a mouth, and tentacles. The
physical appearance of the male and female medusae velum, including their gonads, are
indistinguishable, and the sex can only be determined by observing the inside of the gonads, which
will either contain sperm or eggs. The medusae reproduce sexually, releasing sperm and eggs that
fertilize to form a zygote, which later morphs into a blastula, then a ciliated swimming larva called a
planula.
Campanularia sp. May be substituted for Obelia. Polys look that same. They are in the same family,
but medusa are different, Campanularia being more boxlike.