Arthropod

Arthropod


 * BYRNE, LIAM ||
 * MALONEY, LUCAS ||
 * FISHER, BENJAMIN ||
 * GREAGAN, GABRIEL ||
 * BOWE, HAYLEY ||
 * WELLS, KYLE ||
 * MOORE, QUAI QUAI ||

Research your assigned Animal Phylum for the following information-

· Segmented Bodies; a head, thorax, and abdomen. · Six or more jointed legs. · Generally are small and less than one 1cm, but some are very large. · Their outer-body is covered in a hard skin or shell called an exoskeleton. · Exoskeletons are made of a material called chitin. · Arthropods do not have noses, they breathe through small openings in their thorax, abdomen, or trunks.
 * Basic Structure:**

· Largest animal group in the world. · Three out of every four animals is an arthropod. · They are found everywhere on earth; on land, in the air, freshwater, saltwater, and underground. · Arthropods have to shed their exoskeleton periodically. · Most Arthropods start as eggs, hatch into larvae, and metamorphose into adults. > ** Approximate amount of species **
 * Unique Facts:**

The amount of arthropod species on earth is 4-6 million. Also arthropod is the largest species of animal.

 * They constitute over 90% of the animal kingdom
 * From a biological standpoint arthropods are considered to be the most successful animal on earth. Successful being: number of species, occupying many habitats, eating many different foods, and have good defense skills.

Phylogenetic Tree of Classes




 * Color Pictures and Scientific Species Names of 5 Examples of Phylum

Everywhere from the deepest depth of the ocean to the tops of mountains. Aquatic and Terrestrial. Every biome, on every continent.
 * Geographic Distribution

There are many types of feeding that an animal can undertake. Arthropods exhibit every single type, including: Carnivorous, Herbivorous, Detritus feeders, Filter Feeders, and parasites. Arthropods typically have general paired appendages near the mouth and they are used for handling and processing the food. These appendages are basically like hands as they help move the food into their mouth. Some appendages are used for piercing and sucking out of certain things, and others are more specialized for the type of food that they eat.
 * Feeding Mechanisms**

Some arthropods even use poison to capture their food such as spiders and scorpions. For spiders, the poison is injected into the victim through the fangs, while for the scorpion the poison is injected through the stinger at the tail. This is all used for feeding processes which help with feeding. Some poison even helps break down the insides of another arthropod which in turn helps break down the arthropod.

There are two parts of the digestion track called the fore and hind gut. These two parts of the digestion track are lined with the same material that is used within the skeleton. From arthropod to another, the digestion track varies. In the mid part of the digestion tract, the enzyme that is used to break down food lies within and in some spiders it is expelled within their venom to break down their prey. · Some arthropods have mandibles they use for eating leaves, plants, and sometimes other organisms · Some use a proboscis (a straw like mouth on lower face) to suck the nectar out of plants · Some parasitic arthropods use a proboscis to suck the blood from a host. Some take blood from veins, others take it from a pool of blood








 * Reproductive Mechanisms**


 * Arthropods, with a few exceptions, have both a male and female version. They reproduce sexually. The sex organs of each sex are connected directly to ducts that open onto the ventral surface of the trunk. This all varies depending on the type of arthropod and group. During sex, sperm is usually transferred to the female via spermatophores, which are basically packages of sperm. They are usually given to the female or the female is chemically attracted to the spermatophores. With the use of spermatophores, the sperm is able to be unaffected by outside forces.


 * Arthropods never reproduce through live birth. They basically lay eggs in clusters. When the arthropods hatch, they are basically developed, called a larvae. They then, through metamorphosis, change form into an adult form.


 * When arthropods hatch, they can form into nymphs, larvae, and other forms. Nymphs usually resemble their adult form, just without the wings, which develop later in life. Other arthropods go through a process of metamorphosis from larvae, to pupae, then to adult form through that process. This process requires the larvae to become dormant for a very long time and a good example of this is a caterpillar into a Butterfly.


 * Ecological Niche (“job” as a member of the environment)
 * A niche is defined as an ecological role of an organism in a community, usually in regard to food consumption. There are arthropods that contribute to pollination in a given environment. There are also arthropods that naturally control of fungi and bacteria growths. Arthropods also stabilize their communities with natural pest control; other arthropods that are decomposers and recyclers within their environment. An arthropod called the Cleaner Shrimp (//Lysmata amboinensis//) that cleans fish of parasites and excess scales. There are ants, known as Leafcutter ants (//Atta cephalotes//) that live on communal colonies that eat fungus that was collected from fungal gardens. A parasitic crustacean, like the //Cymothoa exigua// lives in fish’s mouths and attached to their tongue, sucking the blood from it.

“Arthropods”. Globio.org. 17 February 2011. http://www.globio.org/glossopedia/article.aspx?art_id=15
 * References:**

Common Cleaner Shrimp”. Aquaticcommunity.com. 17 February 2011. www.aquaticcommunity.com/inv/commoncleaner.php

“Digestive system and feeding.” __Britannica.com__ 16 February 2011 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/36943/arthropod/42365/Digestive-system-and-feeding

“Ecological Niches”. Berkeley.edu. 16 February 2011. http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article//arthropods_intro_04

“Leafcutter ant”. Bristolzoo.org. 17 February 2011. http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/leafcutter-ant

“Reproductive System and Life Cycle.” __Britannica.com__ 16 February 2011 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/36943/arthropod/42370/Reproductive-system-and-life-cycle

“The Ecological Importance of Arthropods”. Brighthub.com. 16 February 2011. http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/85197.aspx?p=2