Are brittle stars symbiotic?

The brittle stars and the corals live in the Gulf of Mexico in a symbiotic relationship. The brittle stars use the branches of the coral to gain easy access to drifting food particles and the corals are helped by the stars in the event of an oil spill.

1. What is unique about brittle stars?
2. What type of reproduction is brittle star?
3. What is the role of a brittle star?
4. How do brittle stars communicate?
5. How do brittle stars differ from sea stars?
6. Can brittle stars survive out of water?
7. How do brittle star reproduce asexually?
8. Is a brittle star an invertebrate?
9. Is the brittle star asexual?
10. Are brittle stars brittle?
11. Are brittle stars decomposers?
12. What is a predator of a brittle star?
13. Is a brittle star a carnivore?
14. How do brittle stars defend themselves?

What is unique about brittle stars?

Brittle Stars use their arms to move in a wriggling manner. They are bilaterally symmetrical, like humans, to move or swim away. They are called Brittle Stars because their arms may break off easily when they are touched. They do not have a brain system and function smartly for their feeding and protection.

What type of reproduction is brittle star?

Most species of brittle stars reproduce by spawning, but some will reproduce sexually, and others will go through a process called fission. During fission, an individual will split in half and regrow the missing body parts to become a whole sea star.

What is the role of a brittle star?

Brittle stars play an important role in the Arctic food web. First, they are known to be seafloor ecosystem engineers. They reshape the seafloor sediment surface and influence the distribution of other seafloor species. They also provide nutrition to fish, sea stars and crab predators.

How do brittle stars communicate?

Brittle stars have a circular body disc and typically five radiating arms (figure 1a). Each arm consists of a series of segments, each containing a roughly discoidal vertebral ossicle. ... Each arm communicates with its two adjacent arms via the nerve ring [22].

How do brittle stars differ from sea stars?

The key difference between starfish and brittle star is the mode of movement; starfish uses tube feet for their movement whereas brittle star moves using their long arms. Additionally, the starfish has a complete digestive system with both mouth and anus. ... Also, starfish has short arms while brittle star has long arms.

Can brittle stars survive out of water?

Most starfish species can only hold their breath for less than 30 seconds. 5 minutes out of water is simply a kind of death sentence to them, even if it is an 'instagramable' death.

How do brittle star reproduce asexually?

Some brittle star species may also reproduce asexually through a process called fission. Fission occurs when the star splits its central disk in half, which then grows into two brittle stars.

Is a brittle star an invertebrate?

Brittle star, also called serpent star, any of the 2,100 living species of marine invertebrates constituting the subclass Ophiuroidea (phylum Echinodermata). Their long, thin arms—usually five and often forked and spiny—are distinctly set off from the small disk-shaped body.

Is the brittle star asexual?

But some sea stars and brittle stars are able to duplicate themselves, a process called asexual reproduction. ... muricatum split its body down the center in a process called fission, but some sea stars (like the comet star ) can regrow an entire body from a single chopped off arm.

Are brittle stars brittle?

Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomotion. The Ophiuroidea contain two large clades, Ophiurida (brittle stars) and Euryalida (basket stars). ...

Are brittle stars decomposers?

An ocean food web incorporates many different organisms in an ecosystem, from primary producers to consumers like fish, fishermen, and whales, as well as decomposers like brittle stars and bacteria.

What is a predator of a brittle star?

Predation. Common brittle stars are prey to many species of fish, portunid crabs, and some species of starfish. Their main predators include ballan wrasses, cuckoo wrasses, common dragonets, velvet crabs, spiny starfish and common starfish.

Is a brittle star a carnivore?

Other brittle stars are carnivores that use their arms to sweep tiny creatures to their mouths. Yet others are scavengers, nibbling on their food with their jaws or using the tube feet near their mouth.

How do brittle stars defend themselves?

Brittle stars are sea star cousins that bury themselves for protection, leaving an arm or two free to catch bits of food. Sometimes this attracts a hungry fish but fortunately, a star can't be tugged out by the arm. The arm snaps off, and a new one grows from the stump.