Module 5: Phylum Platyhelminthes: Flatworms

Class Disscussion

Please click the link, Have people ever really eaten tapeworms for weight loss from Discovery Fit and Health to read an article about tapeworms.

Then go to the Tape Worm discussion page in Blackboard and provide a paragraph (at least 5 sentences) giving your opinion on whether or not you would consider a Tape Worm Diet. Be sure to explain your position. Additionally, respond to at least one posting made by a peer.

Virtual Lab

While scuba diving near Charleston, South Carolina, you spot an unusual sea creature on the sea floor. As a scientist, you collect the specimen and return it to the lab for identification. Using the images and clues below, identify the phylum and class of this sea worm. You may also use any online resource to assist with your identification. Write a report no less than 100 words long justifying your categorization.

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• sea worm
• sea worm diagram

Lab Notes (Clues)

1. Is there segmentation?
2. While observing this organism, you witnessed it capture another organism using a long proboscis. (is is parasitic, filter feeder or predatory?)
3. Where was it found? (is it benthic, pleagic, planktonic?)
4. Does it have a body cavity? (coelom)
5. Does it have a circulatory system? If so, is it open or closed?
6. What structures are present to aid in locomotion?

Lab Report: Use this lab report to document your findings and submit via Bb. You can also find this in the Bb folder for Worms.

Weekly Writing Assignment

Write a 100+ word response to a current marine biology article from the Science Daily news feed (see below). Submit your response via Blackboard on the appropriate form/document in the assignments folder on Blackboard.

Underwater noise decreases whale communications in Stellwagen Bank sanctuary
High levels of background noise, mainly due to ships, have reduced the ability of critically endangered North Atlan...
Marine research in the Brazilian rain forest: Slash and burn practice for centuries as source of stable carbon compounds in the oceans
Until recent decades the Atlantic Rainforest covered a large area of today’s Brazil from Amazonas to present-day ...
Mission discovers record depth for Lophelia coral on Gulf of Mexico energy platforms
A team of federal and university scientists on a 10-day expedition in the Gulf of Mexico has discovered Lophelia co...
Drivers of marine biodiversity: Tiny, freeloading clams find the key to evolutionary success
What mechanisms control the generation and maintenance of biological diversity on the planet? It’s a central ques...
Microbes, sponges, and worms add to coral reef woes
Microbes, sponges, and worms -- the side effects of pollution and heavy fishing -- are adding insult to injury in K...
Seafood, wild or farmed? The answer may be both
Most people think of seafood as either wild or farmed, but in fact both categories may apply to the fish you pick u...
Limits of microbial life in an undersea volcano: Third of Earth's organisms live in rock and sediments
By some estimates, a third of the Earth's organisms by mass live in our planet's rocks and sediments, yet their liv...
Scientists predict impact of ocean acidification on shellfish
An international study will help us to understand and predict the likely impact of ocean acidification on shellfish...
Deep-sea squid can 'jettison arms' as defensive tactic
A researcher has observed a never-before-seen defensive strategy used by a small species of deep-sea squid in which...
Skin cancer identified for the first time in wild fish populations, beneath ozone layer hole
Scientists identify melanoma in the coral trout, a species found on the Great Barrier Reef and directly beneath the...

Key Terms

Make flash cards of these key terms to assist in your preparation for exams and quizzes.