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Adaptations of Marine Worms in Antarctica

What structural adaptations do you see on these sea urchins?

Sea urchinWhat structural adaptations can you see on the sea urchin (the purple organism, not the white one)? (Photo courtesy of Stacy Kim)

Bonus: What behavioral adaptations do you see the sea urchins using in this photo?

sea urchinsWhat behavioral adaptation do you see the sea urchins using? (Photo courtesy of Adam Marsh)
Mon, 10/03/2011 - 05:09

Anonymous

Hey,It's Mr Crandells A period. We think the Sea Urchin has the following:
Structures Function
Spikes Spear Food/ protection
Shape Rock like for camoflage
Behavior- it hunts in groups or lives in colonies for safety and protection from predators

Mon, 10/03/2011 - 05:34

Anonymous

Mike,
I think it has something to do with the white thing on the urchin? The spots on the seal? and the penguin's white belly? Are they trying to blend into the snow and ice surrounding them?
Lynn

Mon, 10/03/2011 - 06:10

Anonymous

Same things as our A period except these new ones:Red Color to warn of their poison
Spikes are also used for movement
The white thing might be a mouth to eat

Mon, 10/03/2011 - 08:09

Anonymous

New ideas:Red could be for warning, but could also be to attract prey
No definite head, so predators wouldn't know how to kill it
tough skin for protection, in case spikes were to break

Mon, 10/03/2011 - 20:08

Michael League

Mr. Crandell's classes,You did a great job looking at the structural adaptations of the sea
urchin. I definitely owe you postcards. Here's a quick summary of the
ones our team agrees with:
Spines - protection
Exoskeleton - protection
Both of these are great! There are still some more out there to guess,
so let's hear from some others. Also, you don't quite have the right
idea with the behavioral adaptation. We're looking for someone who can
explain what many of those urchins are doing in that photo.
Thoughts?
Mike