The flagella help sponges take water and food particles in through their pores. Sponges have minute pores lined with flagellated cells all over their body. They filter food particles out of the water flowing through them. Sponges do not have distinct circulatory, respiratory, digestive, and excretory systems – instead the water flow system supports all these functions. Examples of these can be found living on the Darwin Mounds located north-west of Cape Wrath, Scotland.Ĭorals coordinate behaviour by communicating with each other. Other corals do not have associated algae and can live in much deeper water, with the cold-water genus Lophelia surviving as deep as 3000 m. These corals can be major contributors to the physical structure of the coral reefs that develop in tropical and subtropical waters, such as the enormous Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Consequently, most corals depend on sunlight and grow in clear and shallow water, typically at depths shallower than 60 m (200 ft). However, they obtain most of their nutrients from photosynthetic unicellular algae called zooxanthellae. Coral - Physiological DifferencesĬorals can catch small fish and animals such as plankton using stinging cells on their tentacles. They are radially symmetrical with tentacles surrounding a central mouth, the only opening to the stomach or coelenteron, through which both food is ingested and waste expelled. Polyps are usually a few millimeters in diameter, and are formed by a layer of outer epithelium and inner jellylike tissue known as the mesoglea. The polyps are multicellular organisms that feed on a variety of small organisms, from microscopic plankton to small fish. While a coral head appears to be a single organism, it is actually a head of many individual, yet genetically identical, polyps. Instead most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes, and the shapes of their bodies are adapted to maximize the efficiency of the water flow. Sponges do not have nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Coral vs Sponge - Anatomical Differences Anatomy of sponges
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