Asteroidea

on them. This can be shown by looking at the relationship of the sea stars with other organisms. Sea stars are predators that mainly hunt for mussels, clams and other molluscs. The removal of few sea stars could cause an overpopulation of mussels, clams, and other molluscs as there are no sea star present to hunt them. In contrast, the removal of few sea stars could cause a significant drop in the amount of sea star predator such as sea otters and seagulls. The amount of fish, algae, and snails will also be affected by the absence of sea star. In fact, any slight change in the number of sea star living in the environment will cause a drastic change in the environment and the organisms living in it. In 2013, an epidemic hits the class Asteroidea, the group in which most sea star belong in. Sea stars including the giant sea star was found dead with one or more arms chopped off. Some white marks (lesions) were also noticed in the aboral side of the sea star, signaling a tissue decay going on. The tissue decay lead to an eventual fragmentation of the body and eventually death. Though the purple sea stars (P. ochraceus) were the main victim of this event, the giant sea star also felt the impact. The number of both sea stars decreased rapidly and created a significant imbalance in the environment. Marine biologists were appalled at the rate of disappearance of the sea stars and began scrambling to learn what actually happened. This epidemic is commonly known as the “Sea Star…

1.Nemo and Marlin (Amphiprioninae ocellaris) Common name- Clown Fish The first thing you need to know about Clown Fish is that they are Bright orange with three distinctive white bars, as clown anemonefish are among the most recognizable of all kinds of reef-dwellers. 2. Dory (Paracanthurus hepatus) Common name- Regal Blue Tang Regal Blue tangs possess a convenient protective adaptation that helps keep them safe from predation. As the tail thrashes from side to side, the fish is capable of…

Ophiothrix spiculata (a.k.a. spiny brittle stars) are the most diverse organisms in phylum Echinodermata that can be found in the ocean all over the world. They are spotted in many different colors such as orange, yellow, red, blue, black, or even tanned with reddish and white bands on their arms. Most spiny brittle stars have either round or star-shape body that are usually not larger than three centimeters. The body is called the central disk which consists of the dorsal shield (aboral side)…

Starfish are classified under the domain Eukarya. Their multicellular presence and existing nuclei exclude them from prokaryotic domains. Furthermore, they are classified in the Animalia kingdom because they are not prokaryotes or protists. Next, Sea Stars fall under echinoderms, which are invertebrates characterized by their hard, spiny skin. The echinoderm phylum consists of mostly sea creatures (Pawson & Miller, 2016). Organisms placed in the Asteroidea class are identified by their arms that…