A few examples of decomposers of the Pacific Ocean biome are barnacles, christmas tree worms, hagfish, lobsters, and ribbon worms.
BarnaclesDescription: Barnacles, also known as Cirripedia, are small and sticky crustaceans related to crabs, lobsters, and shrimps (NOAA).
Adaptations: As babies, barnacles float around with the plankton in their environment, making them easy targets for their predators, but they have adapted by developing a tough outer shell which few of their predators can eat (A-Z Animals). Food: Barnacles are filter feeders that feed on food particles that they strain out of the water through their feather-like appendages called cirri, and they feed on plankton (A-Z Animals). Scientific Name: Cirripedia |
(NOAA)
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Christmas Tree WormsDescription: Christmas tree worms are Christmas tree shaped worms with spirals of plumes used for breathing and eating, which live in coral reefs all around the world, such as the Great Barrier Reef.
Adaptations: Christmas tree worms live in tubes which can be up to about 8 inches long and are constructed from calcium carbonate. The tubes are produced by excreting calcium carbonate and can grow to be longer than the worm, which allows the worm to withdraw into the tube for protection. The tubes are even equipped with spines to protect the worms from predators. Food: The spirals of plumes, which are like tentacles, are used for feeding on the suspended food particles and plankton that are in the water. Scientific Name: Spirobranchus giganteus |
(About Education)
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HagfishDescription: Hagfish are “long, slender and pinkish, and are best known for the large quantities of sticky slime which they produce” (Introduction to the Myxini).
Adaptations: Hagfish are pretty much blind, however, they have developed great senses of smell and touch in order to compensate for their poor vision. They have also developed four pairs of sensing tentacles around their mouth to help them function better (Introduction to the Myxini). Food: Hagfish feed on things such as dying fish and other marine invertebrates, but the largest part of a hagfish’s diet consist of polychaete worms (Introduction to the Myxini). Scientific Name: Myxini |
(Introduction to the Myxini)
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LobstersDescription: “Lobsters are ten-legged crustaceans closely related to shrimp and crabs” (National Geographic).
Adaptations: Lobsters have adapted to this environment by crawling rather than swimming, which allows them to hide in small cracks and burrow into the sand away from predators (National Geographic). Food: Lobsters feed mainly on fish and mollusks, but also consume algae and other plant life and even other lobsters (National Geographic). Scientific Name: Nephropidae |
(A-Z Animals)
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Ribbon WormsDescription: Ribbon worms are “a phylum of invertebrate animals” (Marine Education Society of Australasia).
Adaptations: Ribbon worms have a proboscis, or a unique muscular structure which allows for them to contract or expand their own body when attacking prey in order to consume prey that is more than double the width of their own body (Smithsonian). Food: Ribbon worms consume prey such as clams, crustaceans, snails, and other types of worms (Smithsonian). Scientific name: Nemertea |
(Smithsonian)
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