help needed! asap

[csmithy]

i have some questions here i need to be answered! if anyone can help me with any of these it would be greatly appreciated! thanks

-what type of food do squid consume?what evidence for this was found?(squid dissection)
-what structional features allow the squid to protect itself?
-what group do squids belong to and list its full classification from kingdom to species?
-what features mark the squid to be a good hunter?
-how do suids reproduce? is this similar to the cuttlefish? explain how the cuttlefish uses colour inits mating rituals
-Name several features that the grey nurse shark have that has put them at the fringe of extinction because of human intervention
-what features do starfish have that allows them to spread prolifically?
-calssify starfish and list another family of animals they are related to.
-what role does the (melbourne) aquarium play in the community? discuss this taking into account enviornmental issues, biology of an organism, understand behaviourof animals, experiencing first hand things that are different to see...etc
-use a diagram to show how gills work as opposed to lungs in a land animal.

thanks for ur help

 

[joel_ang]

Hi and to our glorious TONMO.com!


-Squids feed on fish and inverts.

-They have their ability to squirt ink and their siphon/funnel which enables them to jet away quickly in times of danger.

-I cant find stuff on this at Tree Of Life so i'll pass and leave this to someone else.

-Squids, like all "modern" cephs are highly intelligent invertebrates and can anticipate things which are about to happen. They have 2 stretchable fluid filled feeding tentacles which have pads of suckers at their ends and can shoot them out and a very fast speed to catch prey.

-I'm not sure about how cephs use their colour during their rituals, but when mating, squids implant spermatophores on their mate's tentacles.
I'm going to have to stop here as i'm not knowledgeable in the rest.

Diagram?!!!! I got a wierd feeling this has something to do with a test or sumkind of project. But we'll be willing to help nonetheless. , Anyone, do correct me if I went wrong coz I think I did :?

 

[WhiteKiboko]

you shouldve have too much trouble finding the answers if you take a bit of time and search the web.... although i do think one of the science forums mightve been a better place for the ceph questions....

also,

 

[Phil]

Hi!

Methinks you may have an essay to write or some homework?

Joel, I'd say you were bang on with your answers as ever! As for some of the other questions:

As for classification, doubtless different people will tell you different models but this is how I understand it, though please bear in mind that classification is not 'set in stone', as it were, and is constantly under review. There are many, many people who know this stuff in much greater detail than myself, but this is (hopefully) correct in its simplest form:

Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Subclass: Coleoida
Superorder: Decapodiformes
Order: Teuthoidea
--------(Suborder) Myopsina, i.e coastal squid
----------------Families: 2, i.e Loliginidae, Pickfordiateuthidae
--------(Suborder) Oegopsina, i.e oceanic squid
----------------Families: 20+ inc. Architeuthidae, Cranchiidae, etc.

The Families are divided in several genera (singular: genus, i.e the first part of the Latin name), too many to list here, and those again are subdivided into the individual species (second part of the Latin name). For example, Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis and Sthenoteuthis pteropus represent two distinct species of the family Ommastrephidae. The second part of the Latin name is the indicator of the species.

I hope that is right, though Dr O'Shea and Tintenfisch are really those 'in the know' about classification.

As for starfish or Asteroids, these are closely related to the sea urchin (echinoids), sea cucumbers (holothuroids), sea lilies (crinoids), and a few extinct groups such as the blastoids and cystoids. If you look closely at all these Echinoderms, you will find most have a common five-fold symmetry and tube feet demonstrating that they had a common ancestor.

Hope that is of some help to you. Please tell me you would have looked it up yourself; you know that is the best way to learn these things.

Phil

 

[Steve O'Shea]

i have some questions
-what type of food do squid consume?what evidence for this was found?(squid dissection)
-how do suids reproduce? is this similar to the cuttlefish?

You certainly did have a few questions!! Answers to some of these are posted in Ceph Science (top left-hand column when you log on to TONMO.com - check out the article on giant squid reproduction), then check out the most recent posts on the Research & Discovery forum, where we show the spermatophores implanted in the mantle wall of Histioteuthis, and the bizarre male morphology (in the thread titled 'sensational new squids ...'). Basically 'how they do it' in squids is an unknown - we have to reconstruct it based on examination of dead specimens. Hopefully this will change soon. I'll post a few more pics of Pholidoteuthis, in mating pose (reconstructed), and of the spermatophores implanted in the mantle wall (you'll find this on Research & Discovery also).

As for the other questions, wow .... but I'm sure that someone online will have an answer ... and you've already got a few jolly good answers above.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Jean]

Hiya Cathy

I guess seeing as I work in an aquarium (which means I have to talk about things OTHER than cephs occasionally!) I'll have a bash at some of your questions.

-what features mark the squid to be a good hunter?
-how do suids reproduce?
is this similar to the cuttlefish? explain how the cuttlefish uses colour inits mating rituals
what features do starfish have that allows them to spread prolifically

1) In addition to the feeding tentacles and assorted suckers, sucker rings (with teeth) hooks etc, most squid have excellent eyesight and are often fast moving with giant nerves to facilitate this,

2) Not sure about cuttlefish reproduction although I assume it's similar to squids (Steve pointed out where that info is!) Cuttlefish have definite mating displays. Male cuttles will signal to the female using colour and patterns and she if she fancies him will "reply". what's really cool is that if there is a rival male the mating male will have the half of his body facing the female in mating colours and the half facing the rival male in "warn off" colours! (check out Cephalopod Behaviour by Messenger and Hanlon for more info!)

3) Starfish often broadcast spawn, that is they chuck eggs and sperm into the water and let them go as they will. They produce hundreds of millions of gametes! In addition they have the ability to reproduce asexually by splitting in half and each half grows a new half, quite useful if you can't find a mate! It doesn't produce much this way but it guarantees that some new starfish will happen!!

Hope this helps

J

 

[csmithy]

hello everyone!
thank you all for your help! This has helped me with what i am doing! thanks!

 

[csmithy]

has anyone got some more answers
thanks once again for your help

 

[Bald Evil]

Everything you could possibly want to know about squid biology, physiology, and behaviour can be learned by watching "The Beast", the TV movie adaptation of Peter Benchley's novel "Beast".

Honestly.

 

[Fujisawas Sake]

Dude!

"Classify Starfish"?!?! Dude, are you using us to do your marine biology homework?!? What do we look like, a tutorial service? We gots to get paid, yo!



Nah, just yanking your chain! Starfish, or Sea Stars are in:

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Echinodermata
Class Asteroidea

They are related to the other echinoderm classes, like sea urchins and sand dollars (Class Echiura). You mentioned "Family", of which there are many families of sea stars. I don't mean to go all Linaeus on you, but I think you meant what animals in general (Phylum or Class-wise) to which they are related....

Oops.. Holy naked mole rat! Phil already beat me to the punch!

As far as lungs and gills, both are wet, and use concentration gradients to move oxygen and CO2. I would suggest searching on google.com for diagrams.

Welcome to TONMO, where the past, present, and future is cephalopods!

Sushi and Wandering Poet Sake,

John