Organism Physiology Essays - Cnidarians, Venomous Animals, Jellyfish

Organism Physiology Essays - Cnidarians, Venomous Animals, Jellyfish Organism Physiology Organism Physiology There are many different types of organisms that could have been chosen for this assignment. Organisms are any living thing such as fungus, animals, plants, or micro-organism. It is a body made of organs, organelles, or other parts that will work together to carry on the various process of life. The organism I chose for this assignment is the jellyfish. The name ?Jellyfish? is a term that refers to the enormous variety of creatures that live in the sea. Some jellyfish live in fresh water. Jellyfish is an animal that belongs to phylum cnidarians, that is included in the class of scyphozoan. They are members of two groups that float freely or swim. The two groups are cnidarians and ctenophores. The type of jellyfish in the diagram is the scyphozoan medusa. They are the jellyfish that is commonly found washed up on seashores (Building Bodies of Jelly-Jellyfish, 2012). Jellyfish has two major body forms. The first body form is the polyp stage. This stage is characterized by the non-moving stalk that will catch food floating by. The second major body form is called the medusa stage. This form is characterized by the round body with hanging tentacles that will catch food (Hernandez, 2012). This form is more familiar to most people. The jellyfish feeds off of small fish and zooplankton that has been caught in their tentacles. They also have an incomplete digestive system, this means that both food intake and waste expulsion according to (Hernandez, 2012). The tentacles and oral arms are moved by its muscles. The jellyfish uses its oral arms and/or tentacles to move food to the mouth. Once the food is in the jellyfish?s stomach it is digested into broth within 6 hours. The liquid is transported around the animal by the circulatory system. Part of the waste are carried out through the mouth of the jellyfish. The canals of the jellyfish and stomach make up the gastroendodermal system. The jellyfish do not have an anus to release waste like humans and most animals according to (Building Bodies of Jelly-Jellyfish, 2012). In the jellyfish, it has cells that are grouped together into tissues which is also grouped into organs that all work together as an organ system. The cells, tissues, and organs along with the tentacles make up the jellyfish. The tentacles and other parts of the jellyfish are armed with the stinging cells that are called nematocysts. The nematocysts are well grouped into the stinging batteries. When each cell is triggered by a touch of the potential prey or predator that discharges a tiny thread where small harpoons will impale the victim and inject venom. A prey will be injected with dozens of harpoons. Harpoons are the tiny threads in a jellyfish that has poisonous venom. These harpoons are located in the tentacles according to (Building Bodies of Jelly-Jellyfish, 2012). Jellyfish has different types of nematocyst that are found in coelenterates. An individual must know which type of species in order to know what type of nematocyst it has. Different types of jellyfish species will determine how many tentacles it will have and if it has an oral arm. These arms are surrounded by the mouth of the jellyfish. According to (Hernandez, 2012) some jellyfish are not dangerous to humans but they are highly toxic. Some jellyfish does not have these arms. Jellyfish perform the functions of life through regulating the jellyfish?s internal environment. These parts of the jellyfish will allow the organs to still be evolving and become suited to its environment of today. In conclusion jellyfish are sea creatures that rely on their environment for all of life living. Jellyfish are unique sea creatures that have major body forms to help them catch food. The jellyfish uses their tentacles to protect themselves and to catch food. The many different types of organisms there are jellyfish was the most interesting. Jellyfishes are odd creatures that most individuals try to stay away from because of their toxic stinging cells called nematocysts. These stinging cells are located in the tentacles. Jellyfish has a complex life cycle that takes on a number of different forms. References: Building Bodies of Jelly-Jellyfish (2012). Retrieved from Jellyfish: http://cronodon.com/BioTech/Jellyfish.html Hernandez, B. (2012). What is Jellyfish?