|
|||||||
| Coffee Lounge Talk amongst other community members. |
 |
|
|
LinkBack | Topic Tools | Rate Topic |
Jul 19, 06
|
|||
|
|||
|
ESSAY OF THE DAY The Starfish - No longer just a high school award!
A BIT ABOUT THEM
================ This report is dedicated to the greatest beast to roam the earth, the sea star also known as the star fish. Starfish are invertebrates meaning they have no backbone so they can't walk around, and belong to the Kingdom Animalia (they ain't plants) and phylum Echinodermata, where we also find sea cucumbers and Encino Man. Was that Paully Shore or Brendan Fraser? Are either of them still alive? I dunno. Anyways back to the beast of the sea, let's talk basic anatomy. These starfish, which of course aren't fish because you can't eat them, have five or more appendages which they use to move slowly across the ocean floor, or watch five or more television sets at a time with. In order to move themselves towards tv remotes and change channels, starfish depend on a hydraulic water vascular system. This form of locomotion was studied to occur fastest while the sea stars were listenign to the song of 'Locomotion', but slowest during 'Let's get Physical'. Science rules. So these critters are scattered across all seas and can be found in about 1,800 flavors. You will NEVER find them in freshwater, though, because they need the saline environment to create "a delicate internal balance" within their starfishy interior...this is known as a 'specific gravity' reading for the NaCl content within H20. Again, science rules. However, they are mostly found in Sechelt, according to my friend, Robyn: robyn says: i touched a starfish for the very first time last weekend robyn says: i was always afraid of them for some reason mr J | lazydrivers.ca | says: haha where'd you touch one robyn says: in sechelt! robyn says: at the beach by my parents house robyn says: they are evvverywhere STUFF ON THE OUTSIDE ==================== We all think of starfish as having five arms, which for the most part is true, but even certain starfish within a certain specific flavor can have different arms. I'm not sure whether or not more or less arms make a starfish se.xier or not (that was perioded for SYNCRUDE OIL'S EMAIL FILTERING SYSTEM), I guess science doesn't rule enough to teach us the important stuff. The top of the starfish is called the aboral, the spiny upper surface with lots of cool colors typically. Within the aboral we find the madreporite, which is the filter for pulling in water for their vascular water system movement!@ But what if there's no current, you might ask? SHarks always need to swim to pull in water...what about starfish? They can't swim! Sit tight, because starfish have cribriform organs within the family Porcellanasteridae which generate current. They'er really self efficient. Really. Due to contrary belief (of my own), starfish do have a very primitive form of navigation...aka, they can see where they are about to locomote to. On the end of each arm they have a simple eye which is able to detect movement through varying light patterns. Too bad that by the time a starfish gets to where it wants to go, it'd be night time and it won't be able to see anymore and will probably get eaten by one of those sharks I mentioned earlier. Ever seen a starfish with barnacles on it? No! That's because on their aboral they also have small white objects, pedicellariae (how's my latin so far?), which prevent encrusting organisms from making home on their sweet chewy surface. To breathe in for respiration, more latin thingies called papulae take care of that job. DIGESTION AND EATIN =================== How does a starfish eat? lol k i'll tell you only if you keep it a secret. See they have what's called a hemal system, and hemal channels (which in some diagrams look like corn on the cob) that form rings around the mouth (aka the oral hemal lolol) and anus. Yea. Think smooth muscle, remember that from biology? sure you do! Just so you know, hemal channels run next to the gonads as well, who are playing against the Tigers next weekend. Go Nads, Go! But as far as actually eating, starfish actually turn their stomaches inside out....like, outside of their bodies and digest food that way! Some stars of the sea can even use this super stomach to crack open the shells of clams and mussels, and then inject their stomach into the shells for a delicacy only fit for kings! Neat! Despite it's lack of speed, the starfish can actually catch small fish....although I'd liek to see it try and catch me hahahaha. Also mollusks. Also mollusks. LET'S GET PHYSICAL ================== Now while this song doesn't get them movin, it gets them moooovin if you catch this writer's drift. Starfishies use both s.exual and as.exual reproduction, although there are specifically male and female sea stars. So yea, fertilization takes place externals since there's no real bits and parts to go together on these guys. They release their gametes into the water and the embryos become part of the greater vancouver zooplankton population. They then get big enough to sink to the bottom, where they're doomed to sit on the ocean floor for like, however long they live. FUN FACT: Trying to kill bugs on your lawn? You might be using the power of SEA STARS to do so! Several toxins and second-staged metabolites are being subjected to testing for pharmaceutical and pesticide application, and may very well be in use right now! So next time you realize your lawn is camel spider free, be sure to shout out to the Heavens "THANKS STAR FISHIES, YOU REALLY SAVED THE DAY!" NOT A FUN FACT: Starfish can regenerate if hacked apart. You already knew this. That's why it's not in this informative essay. kthx. 
|
