Basics
What phylum do jellyfish, corals, and sea anemones belong to?
Cnidaria
What structure do cnidarians mainly use to capture plankton and small animals?
Tentacles
True or false: Moon jellies are considered true jellyfish.
True
What is the dome-shaped, gelatinous top of a jellyfish called?
The bell
Are sea anemones solitary polyps or colony-forming polyps?
Solitary polyps.
What are the two main body forms of cnidarians described in the slides?
Polyps and Medusa
Some jellyfish can produce light. What is this ability called?
Bioluminescence
Name one species listed as a true jellyfish in the slides.
Moon jelly, fried egg jellyfish, sea nettle, and barrel jellyfish.
What structures help jellyfish sense light and direction around the rim of the bell?
Eyespots
Corals form reefs by producing what material?
A hard calcium carbonate skeleton.
What specialized stinging cells do cnidarians use to capture prey and defend themselves?
Cnidocytes
What substance do corals secrete to build reefs?
Calcium Carbonate
Box jellyfish fall under which group in the slides: true jellyfish or non-true jellyfish?
Non-true jellyfish
What body part helps bring captured food to the jellyfish’s mouth?
Oral arms
Both anemones and corals rely on what algae for energy?
Zooxanthallae
What algae live inside corals and help provide them energy through photosynthesis?
What type of relationship do corals have with zooxanthellae?
The Portuguese man-of-war belongs to which group: true jellyfish or non-true jellyfish?
Non-true jellyfish (Siphonophores)
Where are a jellyfish’s reproductive organs (gonads) located?
Inside the bell
Hydras remain in which life stage for their entire lives?
The polyp stage.
Cnidarians have what type of body symmetry?
Radial Symmetry
What do cnidarian adaptations mainly support in their ecosystems? (Name any one).
Feeding, protection, movement, and symbiosis.
Name one type of cnidarian from the “non-true jellyfish” category.
Box jellyfish, comb jelly, stalked jellyfish, siphonophore, and hydrozoan.
What system do the canals inside the bell support?
The simple circulatory/nutrient distribution system.
What remarkable ability makes hydras a major subject of scientific research?
Their ability to regenerate and show little to no aging.