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Gorgonia Research Paper

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The class of Gorgonia falls under the Kingdom Animalia and Phylum Cnidaria. Life starts for a Gorgonia when a larvae settles on hard surface in the ocean and begins to grow in a polyp. Polyps grow on other polyps indefinitely, which in the end creates the various shapes of a Gorgonia body. Gorgonias are asexual, so they reproduce by the means of fragmentation/cloning. These creatures do not have a reputation for living long. They are short lived and typically do not die of old age; they die from chemical imbalances, growing too big and detaching, and tumors. Gorgonias are sessile, meaning they do not move from the one place that they are attached. These creatures are notorious for their fan-like shape. Because of the way it grows, the Gorgonia is asymmetric, meaning they do not have identical body alignment on either side. …show more content…

Some Gorgonia can be found near tropic or subtropic shores; this helps them more easily feed with the stronger currents and pull of the waves. Gorgonia have a symbiotic relationship with certain algae to help with having a more ideal consumption rate of plankton, their main food source. In this symbiotic relationship, the algae benefits from getting a stable home by attaching to the Gorgonia rather than free-floating in the ocean while the Gorgonia benefit from getting an extra “boost” from the algae. The algae goes through photosynthesis so it gives energy and oxygen to the Gorgonia. The algae also draws more plankton to the Gorgonia. Although the Gorgonia looks like a plant, it is indeed an animal and digests and uses food just as any other animal. This creature’s way of defending its body from attacks is by chemical defense, which wards off any unwanted creature causing it harm. Predators are typically

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