Chitons Essay

Chitons are a class of mollusc called Polyplacophora, when examined, share the same anatomical features as those of the first molluscs on earth. This means that they are t closely related to the beginning of the mollusc group. These molluscs vary in size but have the same features as a long, oval flat body with a segmented mantle to protect the ventral of the chiton. These organism have learned to create a “suction” affect using their ventral to hold on to rocks so that they do not get washed away by the waves. Their radula is a teeth like structure that scrapes of algae that are living on rocks. Chitons also have light sensitive receptors that will detect an amount of light that might be harmful to them and move slowly to the shade using their

This run off can create “algal blooms” which is a result of the vast amount of nutrients in the water from the fertilizer. These blooms are very harmful for marine life as bacteria that grow with it deplete the oxygen source in the water as well as very limited amounts of sunlight can penetrate through these blooms. Organisms in the ocean end of dying because the oxygen levels are small and no sunlight can go through to either warm the ocean or let other organisms photosynthesize. This new environment would be detrimental to chitons as oxygen is absolutely necessary to remain alive. One of the more prominent pre-existing variations in chiton is its outer mantle color. Chiton want to camouflage among the rocks to avoid getting preyed upon. However not all rocks are dark, some are mossy, some are light colored, the chiton’s outer mantle is solely dependent on its environment as evolution has so kindly explained. In this instance, with no sunlight coming though the darker chiton will have a better chance of surviving in relationship to a predator and prey concept. The darker chitons would reproduce more which is