Question

a tunicate is an example of a species in the phylum of chordata. what other imagine you are in the middle of the pacific or atlantic ocean (away from a hydrothermal vent). as you go from the surface ocean to the deepest parts (reaching the seafloor), the pattern of biomass you would see is: select one: a. high at the surface, high throughout the mid-water column, low near the bottom b. high at the surface, medium throughout the mid-water column, low near the bottom c. medium at the surface, high throughout the mid-water column, low near the bottom d. high at the surface, low throughout the mid-water column, slightly higher near the bottom e. relatively constant throughout the entire water column with slightly higher biomass near the sea surface only species falls into this category? a. whale b. sponge c. starfish d. jellyfish

Answer 1

Tunicates are an example of a species in the phylum Chordata and belong to subphylum Urochordata. They have chordate features like a notochord and pharyngeal slits in their larval stages. Whales, unlike sponges, starfish, or jellyfish, are also part of the phylum Chordata along with the tunicates.

Step-by-step explanation:

A tunicate is an example of a species in the phylum Chordata. Specifically, tunicates belong to the subphylum Urochordata. They start life with all four defining features of chordates: a notochord, a dorsal hollow nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, and a post-an al tail. These features are present in the larval stage, but most tunicates lose these features as they metamorphose into the adult stage, except for the pharyngeal slits and the endostyle. Other species that fall into the phylum Chordata include whales, which like tunicates, also have these chordate features at some point during their development. In contrast, sponges (phylum Porifera), starfish (phylum Echinodermata), and jellyfish (phylum Cnidaria) do not belong to Chordata and thus do not develop the notochord or other chordate-specific traits.