Class Anthozoa - The “flower animals”Class Anthozoa - The “flower animals”

Coral Polyps & Sea AnemonesCoral Polyps & Sea Anemones

Class: AnthozoaClass: Anthozoa• Anemone means flower. Anemone means flower. • These animals are called flower animals These animals are called flower animals

because of their flower-like appearance. because of their flower-like appearance.

Class: AnthozoaClass: Anthozoa• Their tentacles radiate from the top of their Their tentacles radiate from the top of their

body like flower petals, and they are often body like flower petals, and they are often brilliantly colored.brilliantly colored.

Coral StructureCoral Structure

• Coral polyps secrete cups of calcium carbonate (limestone) for protection.

• Since polyps live in large colonies, their calcium carbonate cups tend to grow together in large masses forming coral stone.

Coral StructureCoral Structure• They are comparable to tropical rainforests

in that they harbor a tremendous amount of biodiversity.

This photograph shows a colony of coral polyps. Look closely and you will notice that each polyp has a tube-shaped body with tentacles surrounding the mouth at the top. In this photograph the polyps have their mouths so tightly closed that you can’t see them. The pink tissue between the polyps connects them all together allowing nutrients collected by one polyp to be shared with others in the colony.

There are many There are many species of species of clownfish and clownfish and all establish a all establish a mutualistic mutualistic relationship with relationship with sea anemones.sea anemones.

FeedingFeeding• How do most corals and anemones get

their food?• Anemones use the cnidocytes in their

tentacles to catch plankton or small organisms and fish.

FeedingFeeding• Corals also use their tentacles but only at

night and it only makes up 10% of their diet.

FeedingFeeding• Corals depend on symbiotic algae living in

their body to photosynthesize and produce food for coral (90% of diet).

• Algae is called Zooxanthellae

FeedingFeeding

FeedingFeeding• Because zooxanthellae have to

photosynthesize …… corals can only be found in:

• Requirements for Coral Reefs• 1. Warm water• 2. clear water• 3. Shallow water