What is a brittle star's symbiotic relationship?

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. Why are brittle stars important?
2. Do brittle stars eat coral?
3. Do brittle stars live in coral reefs?
4. How does a brittle star move?
5. What is the habitat of brittle star?
6. Are brittle stars unicellular?
7. Are brittle stars carnivores?
8. How do brittle stars reproduce?
9. Are brittle stars sessile?
10. Why are brittle stars unique?
11. Who is brittle star?
12. Why are brittle stars called brittle?
13. What class and characteristics do the brittle stars share?
14. Are brittle stars decomposers?

Why are brittle stars important?

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.

Do brittle stars eat coral?

Temperament / Behavior : These brittle stars are scavengers that should feed on detritus, dead organisms, etc. They should leave corals and fish alone. ... These are known fish eaters.

Do brittle stars live in coral reefs?

What is a Brittle Stars habitat? The Brittle Star is found living in larger coral reef communities with many of its own species and other reef dwelling animals. These echinoderms are epifaunal (live on the surface of the seabed) and found living in large groups near the coast in what is called Brittle Star beds.

How does a brittle star move?

Think of a jellyfish moving up and down in the water column. This is why brittle stars are strange. Despite their five-way symmetry, the stars don't move according to their central axis. Instead, they move perpendicular to it using their five multijointed limbs to propel them along the seafloor.

What is the habitat of brittle star?

Habitat and Range

Brittle stars occur in all the world's oceans from the deep sea to intertidal zones, and including salt and brackish polar areas, temperate, and tropical waters.

Are brittle stars unicellular?

Since it has only one cell, it doesn't have organs or membranes. Unicellular Definition.

Are brittle stars carnivores?

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 reproduce?

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.

Are brittle stars sessile?

Brittle stars are related to sea lilies (crinoids)—sessile animals with simplified bodies and reduced structures. ... However, these species were restricted by their current anatomical structures; body structures they had abandoned in the course of evolution were lost.

Why are brittle stars unique?

They typically have a tough, spiny surface, which inspired their name (in Greek, echinos means “spiny” and derma means “skin”). They also have the unusual ability to regrow lost body parts, and sea stars and brittle stars can regrow arms if broken off or eaten.

Who is brittle star?

brittle star, also called serpent star, any of the 2,100 living species of marine invertebrates constituting the subclass Ophiuroidea (phylum Echinodermata). Brittle stars are mainly deposit feeders, scavengers, and plankton feeders; however, they sometimes trap sizable animals. ...

Why are brittle stars called brittle?

Brittle stars are named for the ease with which their arms break off when touched; these animals, known collectively as ophioroids, are also called serpent stars (ophis means snake in Greek) because their long arms resemble serpents.

What class and characteristics do the brittle stars share?

What class and characteristics do the brittle stars share? Ophiuroidea: slender legs, single set of organs, feed on detritus/small animals.

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.