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As in many marine ecosystems, copepods represent a major food source for a variety of neustonic and surface-associated species. [ 1 ] The sea surface microlayer (SML) at the air-sea interface is a distinct, under-studied habitat compared to the subsurface and copepods, important components of ocean food webs, have developed key adaptations to ...
Bivalvia (/ b aɪ ˈ v æ l v i ə /) or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consisting of a hinged pair of half-shells known as valves.
Mussel (/ ˈ m ʌ s ə l /) is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.
In a few cases, the trochophore remains within the egg (and is then called lecithotrophic – deriving nutrition from yolk), which hatches to produce a miniature adult. Unlike most other molluscs, there is no intermediate stage, or veliger, between the trochophore and the adult. Instead, a segmented shell gland forms on one side of the larva ...
Terrestrial molluscs occur across most of the planet, with the exception of Antarctica and some islands. They inhabit a wide range of ecosystems, from deserts and tundras to rainforests . In terms of survival, this group of species is currently one of the most threatened; there are more known species extinctions of terrestrial molluscs than in ...
Marine invertebrates are invertebrate animals that live in marine habitats, and make up most of the macroscopic life in the oceans. It is a polyphyletic blanket term that contains all marine animals except the marine vertebrates , including the non- vertebrate members of the phylum Chordata such as lancelets , sea squirts and salps .
Marine biogenic calcification is the biologically mediated process by which marine organisms produce and deposit calcium carbonate minerals to form skeletal structures or hard tissues. This process is a fundamental aspect of the life cycle of some marine organisms, including corals , mollusks , foraminifera , certain types of plankton , and ...
Variety of Mollusc shells (gastropods: land snail shells and seashells). Closed and open shells of a marine bivalve, Petricola pholadiformis. A bivalve shell is composed of two hinged valves which are joined by a ligament. Four views of a shell of the land snail Arianta arbustorum The giant clam (Tridacna gigas) is the largest extant species of ...