''Chorizopora brongniartii'' is a
species of
bryozoan in the
family Chorizoporidae
Chorizoporidae is a family of bryozoans belonging to the order Cheilostomatida
Cheilostomatida, also called Cheilostomata, is an order of Bryozoa in the class Gymnolaemata.
They are exclusively marine, colonial invertebrate animals. Cheilost ...
. It is an encrusting bryozoan, the colonies forming spreading patches. It has a widespread distribution in tropical and temperate seas.
Description
''Chorizopora brongniartii'' is a colonial bryozoan forming thin encrusting patches that are shiny and translucent, whitish or pale brown. The surface is sometimes flecked with pink, indicating the presence of
zooids containing developing
embryo
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...
s. The colonies are rounded or lobed and usually less than in diameter, but may be considerably larger. This bryozoan is difficult to observe when underwater, but easier to see when exposed. The individual zooids have transverse ridges and are smooth and convex; the zooids are separated by mosaic-like perforated troughs.
[
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Distribution and habitat
''Chorizopora brongniartii'' has a wide distribution in tropical and temperate seas.seaweed
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
, seagrass, coral, shells, pebbles, various types of seabed, and man-made objects. It is especially common in the Mediterranean Sea growing on '' Posidonia''.
Ecology
Like other bryozoans, ''Chorizopora brongniartii'' is a filter feeder and captures small particles, mainly phytoplankton
Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'.
Ph ...
, from the water with the crown of tentacles that form the lophophore. Colonies grow by budding new zooids. The colony is hermaphrodite
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes.
Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...
, with separate male and female zooids. The fertilized eggs are brooded by the female zooids for a period before being liberated into the water column as ciliated larvae
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
. After a short planktonic phase, these settle on a suitable surface and undergo metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...
into primary zooids which will found new colonies.[
Bryozoans and other animals that settle on hard surfaces compete for space. In an experiment near Plymouth, England, plexiglass panels were submerged at a depth of around . These were soon covered in organisms; early settlers were various bryozoans including ''Chorizopora brongniartii'', and the tube-building worm '' Pomatoceros triqueter''. The worms grew so vigorously that they soon overgrew and excluded the bryozoans; however, some bryozoans colonies avoided being killed by growing onto and over the tubes of the worms, and their larvae settled preferentially on the worm-tubes.][ The bryozoan colonies had longer lifespans than the worms, and in the long term, the bryozoans may survive on the panels despite being weak short-term competitors. Communities on the underside of nearby boulders were mostly dominated by bryozoans and are likely to be a later successional stage; nevertheless, the undersides of a few boulders were almost entirely covered with tube-worms.]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4265047
Cheilostomatida
Fauna of the Atlantic Ocean
Fauna of the Indian Ocean
Fauna of the Mediterranean Sea
Fauna of the Pacific Ocean
Animals described in 1826
Taxa named by Jean Victoire Audouin