| Oaten pipes hydroid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Colony of Tubularia indivisa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Hydrozoa |
| Order: | Anthoathecata |
| Family: | Tubulariidae |
| Genus: | Tubularia |
| Species: | T. indivisa |
| Binomial name | |
| Tubularia indivisa | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Tubularia indivisa (oaten pipes hydroid) [2] is a species of large hydroid discovered in 1758.
T. Indivisa is observed to have around 40 oral tentacles surrounded by 20–30 larger tentacles. [3] This outer ring of larger tentacles are paler and longer than the inner ring of oral tentacles. [2] The tough and yellow unbranched stems are clustered together and fuse at the base of the colony. [4] The color of the single polyp itself can range from a pale pink to a red [4] and in spring (mainly), red or pink gonotheca grow between the inner set of oral tentacles. [5] The gonotheca has been described as "part of hydroid producing gametes where eggs are often incubated until the larva is released". [5] The polyps are observed with a conical or flask shape and present only in spring, [3] with the diameter of the polyp and tentacles being around 15 millimetres (1⁄2 inch) in length and the overall height observed of the entire organism ranging from 10–15 centimetres (4–6 in). [4]
Key identification features include:
T. indivisa have been confused with T. larynx . The two are confused because they often occur and are seen together. In T. larynx the stems are branched while in T. indivisa they are unbranched. [6]
T. indivisa have been observed living in small clumps on all coasts of the British Isles [6] and are widespread in Britain and Ireland. [3] They live strictly in a marine environment and have been spotted in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea, and the English Channel. [2] T. indivisa attach to bedrock, boulders as well as other substrata such as kelp stipes. [6] They have also been observed growing through sheets of sponges (such as Myxilla incrustans and Halichondria panicea), as well as through patches of the barnacle (Balanus crenatus) and the tubes of some amphipods (Jassa spp.). [7] They are seen to be abundant where strong tidal currents occur and grow on various hard surfaces in different water depths ranging from shallow near shore to great depths. [3] Occasionally, they are seen living among seaweeds haptera in "current-swept" areas. [5] Because of their strong attachment points as well as their ability to recover quickly, they are very flexible which allows them to bend with the tide. [8] These areas also have high turbidity levels for a majority of the year. [7]
Shipwrecks on the Belgian waters are the only known locations where T. indivisa is the dominant feature yearly of a community; recreational diver records also have confirmed T. indivisa's dominance. In normal conditions, they are present but not the dominant species. [9] More than 200 shipwrecks have been recorded in Belgian waters with densities of up to 100,000 T. indivisa individuals at these locations. [10] One observed shipwreck, the Kilmore, has been underwater since 1906 in the waters of the North Sea. In the month of July, T. indivisa accounted for 59–82% of total biomass at this shipwreck as it plays an important role in this habitat. These findings supported that shipwrecks in Belgian waters provide development and in turn, a high biomass of T. indivisa species on a repetitive annual cycle. [9] Nine other shipwrecks near the Belgian coast were investigated and T. indivisa as well as T. larynx dominated each site with a total of 90 species recorded and T. indivisa and T. larynx accounting for 69% of the total biomass. [11] However, the biomass was lower on offshore sites as compared to the intermediate sites. T. indivisa has been replacing Metridium senile, thus becoming the dominant species on UK shipwrecks where the tidal currents are strong. [11]
T. indivisa provides a habitat for 12 bacteria and species groups. [12] It contains bacterial aggregates in their tentacles epidermis which contains hundreds of tightly packed, differently shaped endobacteria. T. indivisa is also a habitat for the potentially pathogenic Endozoicimonas elysicola , which is suspected to play a role in amoebic fish disease. [12]
T. indivisa were studied in Felixstone, Suffolk, and were observed to breed the most in the spring as well as late summer (though they are able to breed throughout the year). [13] Through observation in spring cohorts, it has been seen that reproduction can occur within 6–8 weeks and have a large larval dispersal capacity. These larvae can settle 1–10 kilometres (0.6–6 miles) from the parental source and reach sexual maturity at a rapid rate. [7] Their reproductive sacs are noted to be the sporosacs type rather than the Medusae. [14] They are preyed upon by the nudibranch Dendrontous frodosus . The nudibranchs as well as Catriona gymnota [11] are observed to eat the polyps, leaving only the stems. [3] T. indivisa's mortality rate is observed to be around 2% per month in the winter and up to 70% per month in the summer because of nudibranchs. Their life span is around one year and their mean post-larval life expectancy can range from 30 days to 160 days. [13]
A polyp in zoology is one of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria, the other being the medusa. Polyps are roughly cylindrical in shape and elongated at the axis of the vase-shaped body. In solitary polyps, the aboral end is attached to the substrate by means of a disc-like holdfast called a pedal disc, while in colonies of polyps it is connected to other polyps, either directly or indirectly. The oral end contains the mouth, and is surrounded by a circlet of tentacles.
Hydrozoa is a taxonomic class of individually very small, predatory animals, some solitary and some colonial, most of which inhabit saline water. The colonies of the colonial species can be large, and in some cases the specialized individual animals cannot survive outside the colony. A few genera within this class live in freshwater habitats. Hydrozoans are related to jellyfish and corals and belong to the phylum Cnidaria.
Turritopsis dohrnii, also known as the immortal jellyfish, is a species of small, biologically immortal jellyfish found worldwide in temperate to tropic waters. It is one of the few known cases of animals capable of reverting completely to a sexually immature, colonial stage after having reached sexual maturity as a solitary individual. Others include the jellyfish Laodicea undulata and species of the genus Aurelia.
Tubularia is a genus of hydroids resembling furry pink tufts or balls at the end of long strings, spawning the common name as either the pink-mouthed or pink-hearted hydroid.
Leptothecata, or thecate hydroids, are an order of hydrozoans in the phylum Cnidaria. Their closest living relatives are the athecate hydroids, which are similar enough to have always been considered closely related, and the very apomorphic Siphonophorae, which were placed outside the "Hydroida". Given that there are no firm rules for synonymy for high-ranked taxa, alternative names like Leptomedusa, Thecaphora or Thecata, with or without the ending emended to "-ae", are also often used for Leptothecata.
A gonophore is a reproductive organ in members of the Hydrozoa which produces gametes. It is a sporosac, a medusa or any intermediate stage. The name is derived from the Greek words γόνος and -φόρος.
Balanus balanus is a species of acorn barnacle in the Balanidae family. It is native to the colder seas of the northern hemisphere.
Bougainvillia muscus is a marine invertebrate, a species of hydroid in the suborder Anthomedusae.
Fjordia browni is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Flabellinidae.
Coryphella verrucosa, is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Coryphellidae.
Fjordia lineata is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine heterobranch mollusc in the family Flabellinidae.
The tubular hydroid is a species of hydroid cnidarian, and is found in temperate coastal waters. It is a member of the family Tubulariidae.
The tubular sponge hydroid is a species of hydroid cnidarian. It is a member of the family Tubulariidae. These animals usually grow embedded in sponges.
Trinchesia kuiteri is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Trinchesiidae.
Catriona aurantia is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trinchesiidae. It was incorrectly synonymised with Catriona gymnota from the Western Atlantic but shown to be a distinct species by DNA analysis.
Ectopleura larynx, or ringed tubularia, is a hydroid in the family Tubulariidae.
Halecium halecinum, commonly known as the herring-bone hydroid, is a species of hydrozoan in the family Haleciidae. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the western Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Obelia dichotoma is a broadly distributed, mainly marine but sometimes freshwater, colonial hydrozoan in the order Leptothecata that forms regular branching stems and a distinctive hydrotheca. O. dichotoma can be found in climates from the arctic to the tropics in protected waters such as marches and creeks but not near open coasts like beaches in depths up to 250m. O. dichotoma uses asexual and sexual reproduction and feeds on mainly zooplankton and fecal pellets. Obelia dichotoma has a complex relationship with the ecosystem and many economic systems.
Clava is a monotypic genus of hydrozoans in the family Hydractiniidae. It contains only one accepted species, Clava multicornis. Other names synonymous with Clava multicornis include Clava cornea, Clava diffusa, Clava leptostyla, Clava nodosa, Clava parasitica, Clava squamata, Coryne squamata, Hydra multicornis, and Hydra squamata. The larvae form of the species has a well developed nervous system compared to its small size. The adult form is also advanced due to its ability to stay dormant during unfavorable periods.