''Watersipora subtorquata'', commonly known as the red-rust bryozoan, is a species of
colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
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* Colonial (1920 au ...
bryozoa
Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a l ...
n in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Watersiporidae
Watersiporidae is a Family (biology), family of bryozoans in the order Cheilostomatida.
Genera and species
The World Register of Marine Species includes the following Genus, genera and species in the family :
*''Uscia'' Banta, 1969
**''Uscia mex ...
. It is unclear from where it originated but it is now present in many warm-water coastal regions throughout the world, and has become invasive on the west coast of North America and in Australia and New Zealand.
Description
On flat surfaces ''W. subtorquata'' at first forms small encrusting patches, but as these grow they begin to buckle and fold and overgrow itself, forming foliose (leaf-like) structures in sheltered waters. These can be up to high and across. The colonies are usually some shade of orange or red, with varying amounts of black.
The individual soft-bodied units in the colony are called
zooid
A zooid or zoöid is a single animal that is part of a colonial animal. This lifestyle has been adopted by animals from separate unrelated taxa. Zooids are multicellular; their structure is similar to that of other solitary animals. The zooi ...
s and are enclosed in coffin-shaped boxes called zoecia composed of mineralized material. These are arranged neatly, radiating out from where the colony originated. Each zooecium in ''W. subtorquata'' is between long and wide, and the specialised feeding apparatus, the
lophophore
The lophophore () is a characteristic feeding organ possessed by four major groups of animals: the Brachiopoda, Bryozoa, Hyolitha, and Phoronida, which collectively constitute the protostome group Lophophorata.fouling organism and is invasive on the Pacific coast of North America, where it can frequently be found in harbours and estuaries on the coasts of California and Oregon. ''W. subtorquata'' can grow on rocks, shells, buoys, pilings, docks, kelp and the hulls of vessels. It is tolerant to copper and may grow on ships hulls painted with anti-fouling, copper-based paint, and may then be overlaid by other, less copper-tolerant fouling organisms.
Ecology
The zooids of ''W. subtorquata'' extend their lophophores into the water to catch the small organic particles on which they feed;
cilia
The cilium, plural cilia (), is a membrane-bound organelle found on most types of eukaryotic cell, and certain microorganisms known as ciliates. Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea. The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike projecti ...
on the tentacles then waft the food particles towards the central mouth. ''W. subtorquata'' is a
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 ...
; sperm are liberated into the water and drawn into other zooids where they fertilises the eggs. The
larva
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 ...
e are red and are at first brooded inside the zoecia. When liberated into the sea they soon settle, undergo a profound
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 ...