Do you know? Starfish has an important role in underwater ecosystems

azman (56)in #science • 6 years ago

Hello My steemit friends! Hope you all are doing well!
Today I discuss marine animals which is one of the animals that have no spine and this starfish has an important role in the underwater ecosystem.

The starfish has seven arms ^{{Image_@azman}}

As the name implies, this type of animal is a star with five arms. Starfish include radial animal symmetry and generally have five or more arms. Starfish are actually creatures that live freely in the oceans, but in the absence of adequate organs of motion, starfish move only along the ocean currents.

Why do starfish have an important role in marine ecosystems?
Please refer to the discussion below which refers to reliable references

"The starfish is an invertebrate animal belonging to the phylum Echinodermata, and the Asteroidea class. Starfish do not have a framework capable of helping the movement. These invertebrates are moving freely with the legs of their tubes, crawling along the seafloor at a fairly low speed for most species." ^{Wikipedia}

The body of a starfish that has five arms is what causes this animal is called a starfish, its body diameter can reach 30 cm, with a body surface that is amoral. Starfish is also known to have a crown of thorns because it is covered by many thorns. The colors attached to the body of the starfish are generally orange or reddish at the tip of the spines.
In addition, there is a bluish or gray color on other body parts that are around the surface of the arm.

For self-protection from the enemy, this starfish can sever its arm ^{{Image_@azman}}

In conducting their daily activities, the starfish is not helped by the skeletal arrangement of the body which allows it to perform a movement. So, then it is known that the starfish including the type of animal that has a very slow movement. In striving for its body to move from one position to another, the starfish utilizes the water vascular system to allow its body to move.

Starfish are not classified into fish groups because starfish do not have scales, fins and do not move like fish. Often we find that starfish have five arms, but some sea stars have more hands, some have six arms, ten arms, twenty or even forty arms. In an emergency, the starfish may decide one of its hugs as a form of self-protection against the enemy. The process of growing his hands again takes so long, at least a year for the growth of one arm.

Starfish food is sea animals are quite large and hard as like shells. The body of a starfish has one oral and aboral side. The spikes arise from the endoskeletal plate through a thin skin. Pedicellariae resemble a brace keeping the surface of the dirt particles. Air exchange is done by the skin. On the oral surface, each arm has a cavity lane with tube legs.

According to Bruscal, Morphological observations Culcita novaeguineae starfish are obtained by the anus, madreporite, tube feet, mouth, and groove Ambulacral. Madreporite is located on the surface of the starfish Culcita novaeguineae and the anus has the utility as a place of sewerage.

Ecologically, starfish play a role in the coral reef ecosystem, generally as a detritus and predator eater. Detritus-eating animals play a role in recycling the detritus and returning it to the food chain.

Dr Charlie Bavington
Researchers found that "Starfish mucus can be used to coat blood vessels that will allow white blood cells to flow easily"
So the research team began to study how starfish mucus can overcome this and prevent the occurrence of inflammation in the human body. The results of this study, starfish is very effective and has helped a lot of human medicine.

What do starfish growth and reproduction look like?

Starfish Reproduction
Starfish reproduce in two ways: sexual reproduction and asexually. In general, Echinodermata phyla marries separately with some exceptions.

Starfish generally breed freely, to increase their chances for conception, starfish may gather in groups when they are ready to spawn. Starfish use environmental signals to coordinate time, and can use chemical signals to show their readiness to each other.

To find out the type of male or female starfish, we should see the starfish gonad itself by turning around ^{{Image_@azman}}

The fertilized egg grows into bipinnaria and then becomes the brachiolaria larvae, which can grow by catching and eating other plankton.It could be said that at the time they lived as plankton, floating in the water and swimming by using cilia to move. Finally, they undergo complete metamorphosis, settle down, and grow into adulthood.

Male and female starfish are indistinguishable from the outside. To distinguish it should be by looking at the gonad of the starfish itself. Gonads are located in the arms of each starfish, and the release of gametes through gonoducts lies in the central body of the arms.

How does the starfish interact with other animals?

The role and benefits of starfish

The mouth of a starfish is known as a detritus and predator eater ^{{Image_@azman}}

As I mentioned in the above discussion. Starfish play a role in coral reef ecosystems, generally, as detritus and predator eaters, starfish are reef eaters but are not considered a threat to coral reef damage. Coral-eating animals play a role in recycling comrades and feeding them into the food chain.
In addition to its ecological benefits, starfish can also be used in the medical field, starfish can be used as an asthma remedy and rheumatism.

Conclusion
Based on the description and explanation in the discussion above, then got some conclusions as follows:
Starfish have an important role in the underwater ecosystem, if the starfish population decrease or extinct, then the food chain will be chaotic.
The shellfish population of starfish food will explode, while birds and beaver populations that prey on starfish will decline. Therefore, it is not justified taking starfish from its habitat for decoration.

Reference
_{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish}
_{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_vascular_system}
_{http://lanwebs.lander.edu/faculty/rsfox/invertebrates/asterias.html}
_{http://umanitoba.ca/Biology/BIOL1030/Lab2/biolab2_5.html}
_{https://sciencing.com/functions-ampulla-starfish-8788738.html}