Question

In a sea shore, the benthic animals live in sandy, muddy and rocky substrata and accordingly developed the following adaptations.

a. Burrowing

b. Building cubes

c. Holdfasts/peduncle

Find the suitable substratum against each adaptation.

Answer 1

a) Substratum for burrowing:

Burrowing is an adaptation shown by animals such as Nereis, tubeworms etc. They are good swimmers.
They are found in sandy substratum.

Final answer

Sandy substratum

b) Substratum for building cubes:

Animals such as zooplanktons live by building cubes or cube-like aggregates in muddy substratum.
These small cubes help animals in passive feeding.

Final answer

Muddy substratum

c) Substratum for holdfasts/peduncle:

Holdfast and peduncle are the organs possessed by sea animals for attachment, present in organisms such as sponges These help them to remain attached to the rocks during the water flow.

Final answer

Rocky substratum