Sea Floor Engineers Brittle Stars

The brittle stars generally have five long slender whip like arms which may reach up to 24 inches in length on the largest specimens.

Sea floor engineers brittle stars. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomotion. They also provide nutrition to fish sea stars and crab predators. Brittle star by noaa okeanos explorer program gulf of mexico 2014 expedition. Brittle stars ophiuroidea are a group of echinoderms that resemble starfish.

We re dedicated to working with indigenous communities legislators scientists and people like you to advocate for science based solutions to protect this fragile ecosystem. Brittle stars or serpent stars ophiuroidea ophiurida are closely related to starfish. Some are deposit feeders and feed on organic particles that settle on the seafloor. There are about 1500 species of brittle stars alive today and most species inhabit marine habitats with depths greater than 1500 feet.

Many species act as ecosystem engineers by digging through sediments on the seafloor while others recycle nutrients in their roles as scavengers and detritivores providing key sources of nutrition to other organisms including fish starfish and invertebrate predators such as crabs. Sea stars are in the class asteroidea where brittle stars are in ophiuroidea which also includes basket stars. Brittle stars or ophiuroids are echinoderms in the class ophiuroidea closely related to starfish. There are a few species of shallow water brittle stars.

Different species of brittle stars eat in different ways some are suspension feeders and eat food particles suspended in the water. The ophiuroids generally have five long slender whip like arms which may reach up to 60 cm 24 in in length on the largest specimens. Lance horn uncw nurc phantom ii rov operator. First they are known to be seafloor ecosystem engineers.

And some are active predators detecting food by its odor. Brittle stars live on spiny sponges and other sessile animals at the bottom of the deep sea as well as by themselves and in abundant masses directly on the seafloor. Brittle stars play important ecological roles in these deep sea habitats. Brittle stars play an important role in the arctic food web.

They are capable of moving jerkily but usually cling to the seafloor or to sponges or cnidarians e g coral. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomotion. They reshape the seafloor sediment surface and influence the distribution of other seafloor species. However they sometimes trap sizable animals.

Brittle stars occupy many marine habitats often at great depths. Brittle stars ophiurida are echinoderms the same family that includes sea stars commonly called starfish sea urchins sand dollars and sea cucumbers. These species live in the sand or mud just below the low tide mark.