Unit One Introduction to Marine Invertebrates - the National Sea ...

16
Students can touch the tentacles
of anemones, and can
try to feed them bits of food
(pieces of fish, meat, shellfish).
What happens? Have
students watch anemones in
and out of the salt water.
Notice how they attach themselves
firmly to a surface.
Try not to disturb them.
Scientists think anemones may
live 100 years or more, as
long as food is available, so
don’t let them die by human
hand. Keep them cool, and
return them to the ocean as
soon as possible.
Activity 3
Worms
c
Worms of many kinds are an incon,
spicuous but important part of any
beach. Many species have adapted
to their habitats in specialized
ways. There are species of worms
living naked in sand or mud
substrates, some that live commensally
with larger animals, and
others that reside in parchmentlike
or calcareous tubes.
Worms serve a vital function in
their environment by loosening the
substrate and processing nutritive
material into the food chain. They
are themselves on the menu of
birds, fishes, and other animals.
Although the term “worm” as it is
commonly used refers to slender,
wiggly animals with no legs, there
are actually a vast number of worm
species--some slender, some fat,
some with appendages and some
without. Five main
phyla, of worms may
Alaskan beaches :
groups, or
be found on
1. Platyhelminthes (flatworms)
These may be as long as four