Starfish Dissection

Asteroidea (Starfish) Dissection

Background Information (Jordan)

• Habitat: Starfish exist throughout all marine waters, but they are far more common in tropical regions such as the Indo-Pacific, Australia, and the East Pacific. Starfish are also known to populate the colder North Pacific waters, spanning from California to Alaska. Wherever they reside, however, they are known to populate coral reefs, muddy and sandy ocean floor regions, kelp forests, seagrass meadows, gravel, and deep-sea floors.
• Diet: Starfish are known to consume different types of mollusks, most commonly oysters, snails, and clams. Others, however, are detritivores, and instead consume decomposed plants and dead or dying fish. Starfish grab prey using the suctioning, tube-like legs below the starfish’s body. They then bring the prey in front of their mouth at the center of its body, and push out their stomach to envelop the caught organism in digestive enzymes.
• Respiratory System: Starfish do not have traditional gills like most fish and water-dwelling creatures do. Respiration takes place at two locations: the bottom of their tube-like feet through the thin skin that exists there, as well as cilia-lined papulae that move to bring in water that the starfish harvests oxygen from.
• Fun facts: Starfish are capable of regenerating lost limbs or any part of their body that is lost. This process takes roughly a year to come to fruition. Starfish are also capable of asexual reproduction: if a limb is broken off from the starfish, the broken limb is able to regenerate a completely new starfish from it.

Anatomy (Jordan)

Incision Guide (Jordan)

Resources (Jordan)

Habitat and Diet: http://animalstime.com/starfish-facts-kids-starfish-diet-habitat/

Additional Diet information and the Respiratory System: http://animals.mom.me/feeding-respiration-starfish-6596.html

Fun Facts: http://animals.mom.me/unique-trait-starfish-have-1070.html

Dissection Procedure Video (Jordan and Jason)

Pictures taken and dissection procedure performed by Trejo and Jason