Hydroids

This topic submitted by Jennifer Miller ( miller52@muohio.edu) at 2:51 PM on 3/25/04.

This Male Poison Dart Frog is One Heck of a Father! See the tadpole on his back? (Bocas, Panama)

Tropical Field Courses -Interdisciplinary Studies-Miami University

My reason for choosing Hydroids as my topic is as good of a guess to me as it would be for anyone. I guess that once I starting searching for a topic on the internet it is one that seem appealing and less likely to be someone elses choice. After researching the underwater species I have become captivated my their lives, which I will explain more throughout my outline.

I. Introduction
II. All hydroids are canivorous animals.
A. They catch their prey in the water with the aid of stinging and grappling nematocysts.
B. Waste exists through the same opening the food enters
III. Asexual
A.free-swimming jelly-fish like sexual generation (medusa)
IV. colonies
A.branching sessile structure
1.attaching to the substrate
B. erect fern-like "fronds"
1. arranged along the individual branches
V. two major suborders of Hydroids
A. S.O. Anthomedusae
1. polyp not protected by the exoskeleton
a. also known as gymnoblastic hydroids
B. S.O. Leptomedusae
1. both the polyp and specialised gonad structures are protected by exoskeleton cups
a. also know as Calptoblastic hydroids
VI. climate
A. commonly found in the Atlantic and Pacific
B. Located both inshore and offshore
C. live mostly in warm, tropical waters
1. can with stand temperatures as low as -6 degrees
VII. body
A. The hydroid body is cylindrical and is attached to the ground at its aboral end.
B. Mouth is located at opposite end along with a series of tenticals
1. tenticals are found at the margin of the oral cavity
VIII. Species
A. There are 27 different species of hydroids
1. All in which are difficult to distinguish from one another
B. They belong to the Animalia kingdon and are a part of the phylum cridaria
C. They can then be categorized as class Hydrozoa and order Hydroida
VIIII. Conclusion
A.Although this marine organism is graceful and useful to science, they can be extremely dangerous if you come into contact with there stinging tenticals.
1.Best to look but not to touch!!