Diversity
Phylum
Rotifera
is comprised of two classes,
Eurotatoria
(which includes orders
Monogononta
and
Bdelloidea
) and
Seisonidea
, with over 2,200 currently known species. They are most commonly found in freshwater,
although some species live in brackish or marine habitats, in soil, or on mosses.
Rotifers may be sessile or sedentary and some species are colonial. Their bodies can
be clearly divided into three regions: head, trunk, and foot, but the body surface
varies widely between species, some even have spines or tubercles and/or a protective
casing (lorica). Some species sexually reproduce, but parthenogenic reproduction is
far more common, order
Bdelloidea
lacks males altogether. Rotifers mainly feed on smaller animals, algae, and organic
particulates, although some species are parasitic. Depending on the species, they
filter feed or actively hunt and capture prey.
Geographic Range
Rotifers are considered broadly cosmopolitan, and are found in marine, brackish, and
fresh waters throughout the world, excluding Antarctic. Several species are endemic
to specific regions.
- Biogeographic Regions
- nearctic
- palearctic
- oriental
- ethiopian
- neotropical
- australian
- oceanic islands
- arctic ocean
- indian ocean
- atlantic ocean
- pacific ocean
- mediterranean sea
- Other Geographic Terms
- holarctic
- cosmopolitan
Habitat
The majority of rotifers are planktonic and are found in freshwater environments,
though many are found in water films and droplets within soil, lichens and mosses.
Members of order
Seisonidea
are known only from marine environments and live on the bodies of
leptostracan crustaceans
. Other marine rotifers are mainly littoral, but have been found at depths of 400
m and greater. All members of family
Flosculariidae
(class
Monogononta
), about 25 species, are colonial; colonies may be sessile or free-swimming, colony
members do not appear to share resources. A few species are known endo- or ectoparasites.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- tropical
- terrestrial
- saltwater or marine
- freshwater
- Terrestrial Biomes
- tundra
- taiga
- desert or dune
- savanna or grassland
- chaparral
- forest
- rainforest
- scrub forest
- mountains
- Aquatic Biomes
- pelagic
- benthic
- reef
- lakes and ponds
- rivers and streams
- temporary pools
- coastal
- brackish water
- Other Habitat Features
- riparian
- estuarine
- intertidal or littoral
Systematic and Taxonomic History
Phylum
Rotifera
was formally named by Georges Cuvier in 1817, although several species had been documented
and described by authors such as John Harris, Anton von Leeuenhoek, and Louis Joblot
in the late 17th and early 18th century. Classes
Monogononta
and
Bdelloidea
were erected in the late 1800s by Plate and Hudson. No synonyms exist for the phylum,
or any of its included classes.
The three currently recognized classes of rotifers, along with
acanthocephalans
(formerly considered their own phylum) form the clade
Syndermata
. Molecular phylogenetic analyses have suggested
Syndermata
is the sister group to phylum
Gnathostomulida
(jaw worms), forming the
Gnathifera
clade. This analysis, along with a separate study (which did not include gnathostomulids),
placed rotifers within superphylum
Lophotrochozoa
, as a possible sister group to phylum
Platyhelminthes
(flatworms).
Relationships within
Syndermata
are still under debate. Morphological characters support the sister relationship
of
monogononts
and
bdelloids
in class
Eurotatoria
. Molecular studies, however, have suggested that bdelloids are more closely related
to
acanthocephalans
. The position of
Seisonidea
is even more contentious, with authors alternately suggesting they represent the
sister group to all other
Syndermata
, to the
Acanthocephala
and
Bdelloidea
clade, or to just
Acanthocephala
, instead of
Bdelloidea
.
Physical Description
These animals are small, most are less than 1 mm long, although a few species reach
lengths up to 3 mm. They have many different body forms, ranging from sac-shaped to
spherical or cylindrical, wide and flattened, or long and slender. They can be easily
divided into three regions: head, trunk, and foot, although the foot may be modified
or absent, depending on whether the species is sedentary or free swimming. Body surface
appearance varies; some species have spines or tubercles and/or a protective casing
(lorica). The skeletal lamina, a layer within the animal’s epidermis, produces the
lorica (if present), as well as any other surface structures. Many rotifers also have
a gelatinous layer outside the epidermis. Some have dorsal or lateral sensory antennae.
Many have bodies that are annulated to increase flexibility. In most species, males
are extremely rare, and are completely absent in
bdelloid
species. When they are present, male rotifers tend to be much smaller, shorter lived,
and less complex than females.
These animals are eutelic, with an average cell count of 900 to 1,000. Rotifers are
blastocoelomates, and body support and shape are maintained not by a muscular body
wall but by the skeletal lamina and the fluid-filled body cavity itself. Organs are
suspended within the blastocoel. Longitudinal muscle bands are present, which serve
mainly to retract protruding body parts such as the foot. In sessile species, swimming
is achieved by ciliate movement and/or using the foot in a “creeping” fashion: attaching
the foot with secretions from its pedal glands, extending its body, attaching its
head to substrate, then releasing the foot and using its muscle bands to move its
body forward. In sedentary species, pedal gland secretions cement the rotifer in place.
All rotifer species have a ciliary organ located on the head, known as a corona, which
is typically used for locomotion and feeding. It is from these cilia and their characteristic
motion, resembling turning wheels, that this phylum derives its common name, 'wheel
animals'. The appearance of the corona varies from species to species. In its simplest
form, the corona is made of the circumoral field, also known as the buccal field,
which surrounds the rotifer’s mouth, located anteroventrally. The area of the head
anterior to this ring is known as the apical field. In many species, the corona is
made up of two concentric rings, the trochus (most anterior) and cingulum, which may
itself be made up of rings of cilia called trochal discs. The cilia of the trochus
and cingulum move asynchronously.
Although feeding mechanisms vary, general digestive structures are largely the same
between species. The anterior portion of the digestive system consists of the corona,
a muscular pharynx (mastax), and trophi (chitinous jaws). Some may have a buccal tube
leading from the mouth to the pharynx. These animals have two to seven salivary glands,
which secrete digestive enzymes and lubricate food material. An esophagus connects
the mastax to the stomach, where a pair of gastric glands secretes enzymes to further
break down food matter, and absorption of nutrients occurs. The short intestine is
connected to the anus via a cloaca. A nephridioduct leads from a pair of flame bulb
protonephridia (located much farther forward in the body); these empty into a collecting
bladder, which also empties into the cloaca. This system controls osmoregulation and
expels nitrogenous by-products of digestion. Waste, gases and nutrients are all diffused
directly to the exterior environment through organ tissues and blastocoelomic fluid.
- Other Physical Features
- heterothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- female larger
Development
Once eggs are fertilized, they develop a multi-layered membranous shell and are either
attached to substrate, or carried (externally or internally) by the female. Some species
alternate parthenogenic and sexual reproduction. In these cases, females produce diploid
eggs (amictic ova) during favorable conditions, which develop without fertilization.
If conditions become less favorable, these eggs grow into mictic females who produce
haploid (mictic) ova; these ova may develop, via parthenogenesis, into males. When
they mate, these males produce hardy zygotes that hatch into amictic females. It is
thought that embryos undergo modified spiral cleavage; unequal holoblastic early cleavage
produces a sterobastula. Development is direct, although some sessile species produce
free-swimming "larvae" that settle quickly. There is no cell division following embryonic
stages, as these species are eutelic. Each species may have alternative adult morphotypes
due to differing ecological conditions, a phenomenon known as developmental polymorphism.
Reproduction
Parthenogenesis is the most common method of reproduction in rotifers. In sexually
reproducing species, a male either inserts his copulatory organ into a female’s cloaca
or attaches to her, injecting sperm through the body wall directly into the blastocoel.
When present, males are short-lived and have a greatly reduced gut.
- Mating System
- monogamous
Rotifers are dioecious, but in most species, males are extremely rare or even unknown.
Male rotifers, when present, most often have a single testis, which is connected to
a sperm duct and a posterior gonopore, which is unconnected to the digestive system.
Most females have paired or single germovitellaria that provides eggs (produced in
ovaries) with yolks. Yolked eggs pass through an oviduct to the cloaca. In species
with sexual reproduction, a male either inserts his copulatory organ into a female’s
cloaca or attaches to the female, injecting sperm through the body wall directly into
the blastocoelom. Depending on environmental conditions, eggs may be mictic or amictic.
No particular breeding season is associated with these animals. Females may parthenogenetically
produce up to seven eggs at a time, eggs hatch within 12 hours. Sexual maturity is
reached very quickly, within 18 hours of hatching. If conditions are unfavorable,
mictic ova with thick shells are more likely to be produced. Mictic eggs are able
to survive desiccation, low temperatures, and other unfavorable environmental conditions.
These ova undergo a period of diapause and do not hatch until conditions are more
favorable.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- year-round breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- parthenogenic
- sexual
- fertilization
- oviparous
- embryonic diapause
Rotifers exhibit no parental investment beyond egg and gamete production.
- Parental Investment
- no parental involvement
Lifespan/Longevity
Rotifers are short-lived; their total lifespan has been recorded at 6 to 45 days.
Behavior
Most rotifers are motile and planktonic; swimming is achieved by ciliary movement.
Motile rotifers may also move by "creeping" along the bottom, attaching the foot with
secretions from the pedal glands, extending the body, attaching the head to substrate,
then releasing the foot and using muscle bands to move the body forward. In sedentary
species, pedal gland secretions cement the rotifer into place. Some rotifers also
have moveable extremities (bristles, setae, etc.), which they use for quick movement.
- Key Behaviors
- natatorial
- diurnal
- nocturnal
- crepuscular
- parasite
- sessile
- motile
- sedentary
- solitary
- colonial
Communication and Perception
The coronal/apical areas of rotifers have sensory bristles and often paired cilial
pits as well, which are thought to be chemoreceptive. It is common for these animals
to have at least one photosensitive pigment cup ocellus on the dorsal or ventral side
of the cerebral ganglion and many species have one or two pairs of ocelli. Some may
have lateral or apical ocelli that are also photosensitive. Some rotifers have sensory
hairs on their antennae, or the antennae themselves may be comprised of sensory hairs.
- Perception Channels
- visual
- tactile
- vibrations
- chemical
Food Habits
Filter feeding rotifers have well-developed coronal cilia and a mastax (pharynx) for
grinding food. The cilia produce a feeding current, drawing particles into a ciliated
feeding groove, which carries them to the buccal field. Raptorial rotifers grasp or
pierce food items with pincer-like mastax “jaws”, which may then be used to grind
up food particles. Some rotifers feed by trapping prey; these have a funnel-shaped
corona lined with long immotile bristles or spines rather than cilia. When a prey
item enters the funnel, the bristles or spines keep it from escaping and it is drawn
into the mouth, usually located in the center of the funnel. Finally, some rotifers
gather food using coronal tentacles and others are symbiotic, typically with crustaceans,
or entoparasites of annelids and terrestrial slugs, snail egg cases, freshwater algae,
and, in one species, a colonial protist (
Volvox
). Rotifers typically feed on protozoa, algae, bacteria, phytoplankton, nannoplankton,
and detritus or other organic matter.
- Primary Diet
- carnivore
- herbivore
- omnivore
- planktivore
- detritivore
- Foraging Behavior
- filter-feeding
Predation
As planktonic animals, adult rotifers and their eggs serve as prey to many larger
animals, including birds, insects and insect larvae, bugs, beetles, water fleas, copepods,
nematodes, carnivorous plants, fungi, and other rotifers.
Ecosystem Roles
As mainly planktonic organisms, rotifers provide food to many other animals. Adults
and eggs may be parasitized by fungi. Some rotifers are symbiotic with, or parasitic
on, other organisms. Members of the genera
Seison
and
Paraseison
live on the legs and gills of
Nebalia
, a genus of marine leptostracan crustaceans, feeding on their host's eggs and detritus.
Members of genus
Embata
are known to live in the gills of amphipods and decapods. Some rotifers are endoparasitic
(sometimes epizoic), mainly on invertebrates including crustaceans, brachiopods, algae,
protists, bacteria, bryozoans, other rotifers, sponges, fungi, mosses, snail eggs,
annelids, oligochaetes, and slugs.
- Ecosystem Impact
- parasite
- Asellus (Class Malacostraca , Phylum Arthropoda )
- Astacus (Class Malacostraca , Phylum Arthropoda )
- Chasmagnathus (Class Malacostraca , Phylum Arthropoda )
- Gammarus (Class Malacostraca , Phylum Arthropoda )
- Nebalia (Class Malacostraca , Phylum Arthropoda )
- Daphnia (Class Branchiopoda , Phylum Arthropoda )
- Volvox globator (Class Chlorophyceae , Phylum Chlorophyta )
- Volvox aureus (Class Chlorophyceae , Phylum Chlorophyta )
- Volvox tertius (Class Chlorophyceae , Phylum Chlorophyta )
- Uroglena volvox (Class Chrysophyceae , Phylum Ochrophyta )
- Uroglenopsis americana (Class Chrysophyceae , Phylum Ochrophyta )
- Vaucheria canalicularis (Class Xanthophyceae , Phylum Chromista )
- Vaucheria dillwynii (Class Xanthophyceae , Phylum Chromista )
- Vaucheria erythrospora (Class Xanthophyceae , Phylum Chromista )
- Vaucheria geminata (Class Xanthophyceae , Phylum Chromista )
- Vaucheria prona (Class Xanthophyceae , Phylum Chromista )
- Vaucheria racemosa (Class Xanthophyceae , Phylum Chromista )
- Difflugia acuminata inflata (Class Tubulinea , Phylum Amoebozoa )
- Carchesium (Class Oligohymenophorea , Phylum Ciliophora )
- Ophridium (Class Oligohymenophorea , Phylum Ciliophora )
- Vorticella (Class Oligohymenophorea , Phylum Ciliophora )
- Gloetrichia (Division Chlorophyta , Phylum Cyanobacteria )
- bryozoans (Phylum Bryozoa )
- echinoderms (Phylum Echinodermata )
- rotifers (Phylum Rotifera )
- sponges (Phylum Porifera )
- Dacrymyces deliquescens (Division Basidiomycota , Kingdom Fungi )
- Sphagnum (Class Sphagnopsida , Phylum Bryophyta )
- segmented worms (Phylum Annelida )
- Limax (Class Gastropoda , Phylum Mollusca )
- Lecophagus longispora (Class Sordariomycetes , Phylum Ascomycota )
- Lecophagus musicola (Class Sordariomycetes , Phylum Ascomycota )
- Olpidium gregarium (Phylum Chytridiomycota , Kingdom Fungi )
- Rhizophydium gibbosum (Phylum Chytridiomycota , Kingdom Fungi )
- Rotiferophthora (Kingdom Fungi )
- Zoophagus insidians (Phylum Zygomycota , Kingdom Fungi )
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
As mainly planktonic animals, rotifers are an important food source for many animals,
including some that are economically important to humans. They are also studied by
scientists around the world.
- Positive Impacts
- research and education
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no known adverse effects of rotifers on humans.
Conservation Status
As a broadly cosmopolitan phylum, rotifers in general are not considered endangered
or threatened in any way.
Additional Links
Contributors
Jeremy Wright (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Leila Siciliano Martina (editor), Texas State University.
- Nearctic
-
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Palearctic
-
living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- oriental
-
found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Ethiopian
-
living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Australian
-
Living in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea and associated islands.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- oceanic islands
-
islands that are not part of continental shelf areas, they are not, and have never been, connected to a continental land mass, most typically these are volcanic islands.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Arctic Ocean
-
the body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America which occurs mostly north of the Arctic circle.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Atlantic Ocean
-
the body of water between Africa, Europe, the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), and the western hemisphere. It is the second largest ocean in the world after the Pacific Ocean.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Pacific Ocean
-
body of water between the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), Australia, Asia, and the western hemisphere. This is the world's largest ocean, covering about 28% of the world's surface.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- holarctic
-
a distribution that more or less circles the Arctic, so occurring in both the Nearctic and Palearctic biogeographic regions.
Found in northern North America and northern Europe or Asia.
- cosmopolitan
-
having a worldwide distribution. Found on all continents (except maybe Antarctica) and in all biogeographic provinces; or in all the major oceans (Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- saltwater or marine
-
mainly lives in oceans, seas, or other bodies of salt water.
- freshwater
-
mainly lives in water that is not salty.
- tundra
-
A terrestrial biome with low, shrubby or mat-like vegetation found at extremely high latitudes or elevations, near the limit of plant growth. Soils usually subject to permafrost. Plant diversity is typically low and the growing season is short.
- taiga
-
Coniferous or boreal forest, located in a band across northern North America, Europe, and Asia. This terrestrial biome also occurs at high elevations. Long, cold winters and short, wet summers. Few species of trees are present; these are primarily conifers that grow in dense stands with little undergrowth. Some deciduous trees also may be present.
- desert or dunes
-
in deserts low (less than 30 cm per year) and unpredictable rainfall results in landscapes dominated by plants and animals adapted to aridity. Vegetation is typically sparse, though spectacular blooms may occur following rain. Deserts can be cold or warm and daily temperates typically fluctuate. In dune areas vegetation is also sparse and conditions are dry. This is because sand does not hold water well so little is available to plants. In dunes near seas and oceans this is compounded by the influence of salt in the air and soil. Salt limits the ability of plants to take up water through their roots.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- chaparral
-
Found in coastal areas between 30 and 40 degrees latitude, in areas with a Mediterranean climate. Vegetation is dominated by stands of dense, spiny shrubs with tough (hard or waxy) evergreen leaves. May be maintained by periodic fire. In South America it includes the scrub ecotone between forest and paramo.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- scrub forest
-
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
- mountains
-
This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.
- pelagic
-
An aquatic biome consisting of the open ocean, far from land, does not include sea bottom (benthic zone).
- benthic
-
Referring to an animal that lives on or near the bottom of a body of water. Also an aquatic biome consisting of the ocean bottom below the pelagic and coastal zones. Bottom habitats in the very deepest oceans (below 9000 m) are sometimes referred to as the abyssal zone. see also oceanic vent.
- reef
-
structure produced by the calcium carbonate skeletons of coral polyps (Class Anthozoa). Coral reefs are found in warm, shallow oceans with low nutrient availability. They form the basis for rich communities of other invertebrates, plants, fish, and protists. The polyps live only on the reef surface. Because they depend on symbiotic photosynthetic algae, zooxanthellae, they cannot live where light does not penetrate.
- coastal
-
the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.
- brackish water
-
areas with salty water, usually in coastal marshes and estuaries.
- marsh
-
marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.
- swamp
-
a wetland area that may be permanently or intermittently covered in water, often dominated by woody vegetation.
- bog
-
a wetland area rich in accumulated plant material and with acidic soils surrounding a body of open water. Bogs have a flora dominated by sedges, heaths, and sphagnum.
- riparian
-
Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).
- estuarine
-
an area where a freshwater river meets the ocean and tidal influences result in fluctuations in salinity.
- intertidal or littoral
-
the area of shoreline influenced mainly by the tides, between the highest and lowest reaches of the tide. An aquatic habitat.
- heterothermic
-
having a body temperature that fluctuates with that of the immediate environment; having no mechanism or a poorly developed mechanism for regulating internal body temperature.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- monogamous
-
Having one mate at a time.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- year-round breeding
-
breeding takes place throughout the year
- parthenogenic
-
development takes place in an unfertilized egg
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- internal fertilization
-
fertilization takes place within the female's body
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- embryonic diapause
-
At about the time a female gives birth (e.g. in most kangaroo species), she also becomes receptive and mates. Embryos produced at this mating develop only as far as a hollow ball of cells (the blastocyst) and then become quiescent, entering a state of suspended animation or embryonic diapause. The hormonal signal (prolactin) which blocks further development of the blastocyst is produced in response to the sucking stimulus from the young in the pouch. When sucking decreases as the young begins to eat other food and to leave the pouch, or if the young is lost from the pouch, the quiescent blastocyst resumes development, the embryo is born, and the cycle begins again. (Macdonald 1984)
- natatorial
-
specialized for swimming
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- crepuscular
-
active at dawn and dusk
- parasite
-
an organism that obtains nutrients from other organisms in a harmful way that doesn't cause immediate death
- sessile
-
non-motile; permanently attached at the base.
Attached to substratum and moving little or not at all. Synapomorphy of the Anthozoa
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- solitary
-
lives alone
- colonial
-
used loosely to describe any group of organisms living together or in close proximity to each other - for example nesting shorebirds that live in large colonies. More specifically refers to a group of organisms in which members act as specialized subunits (a continuous, modular society) - as in clonal organisms.
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- vibrations
-
movements of a hard surface that are produced by animals as signals to others
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- filter-feeding
-
a method of feeding where small food particles are filtered from the surrounding water by various mechanisms. Used mainly by aquatic invertebrates, especially plankton, but also by baleen whales.
- parasite
-
an organism that obtains nutrients from other organisms in a harmful way that doesn't cause immediate death
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- omnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals
- planktivore
-
an animal that mainly eats plankton
- detritivore
-
an animal that mainly eats decomposed plants and/or animals
References
Ahlrichs, W. 1995. Zur Ultrastruktur und Phylogenie von Seison nebaliae Grube, 1859 und Seison annulatus Claus, 1876 – Hypothesen zu phylogenetischen Verwandtschaftsverhältnissen innerhalb der Bilateria . Göttingen, Germany: Cuvillier Verlag.
Brusca, R., G. Brusca. 2003. Invertebrates (2nd Edition) . Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates.
Garcia-Varela, M., S. Nadler. 2006. Phylogenetic relationships among Syndermata inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial gene sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , 40: 61-72.
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