Have you ever considered where all those curly-wurly squiggly designs come from on a beach. I had presumed it was some sort of sand and sea related physical process – belonging to the realms of physics or chemistry. But I was wrong. Quite wrong! Keep Reading
On the lower shore sponges can be found beneath rocks. Many are thousands of individual tiny individuals living together. They are simple animals. They absorb water and filter particles of food.
Photo: Paul Naylor www_marinephoto_co_uk
Form normally in thin areas of seaweeds. rocks, and seashells. Often feel chalky or slimy to touch and are made up of tiny animals called Zooids. Each animal is a kind of box and has a crown of tentacles.
Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Membranipora
Similar to sponges, these are complex animals. Some live in colonies and others are single. Can grow large, If gently squeezed, can squirt out a jet of water from it’s openings.
Sea Squirts – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascidiacea
Seaweeds belong to the algae family. They are plant like organisms that live in water. They vary in size from small cells to plants 60 metres long. Some are found in seawater and others in fresh water.
Seaweed grows, makes food and reproduces only when covered with water; some survive without water longer than others.
They use photosynthesis to produce food. They don’t have leaves, stems, or roots but have fronds (to absorb light and water), a stipe, and a hold-fast to cling to surfaces