This collection has been created through the work of the students and staff of the Living Classrooms Foundation's Weinberg Education Center. The organisms were found in Baltimore's Inner Harbor using plastic biofilm disks.
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Mud-Whip Worm (Polydora cornuta) This is the most abundant species of worms in the Chesapeake Bay because they are adapted to all types of sediments and surfaces. Mud-whip worms may cause oyster deaths when present on shells in great numbers. They live in tubes built on hard surfaces and individuals use their antennae to probe for food through the tube opening. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Annelida Class: Polychaeta |
 Dorsal View Click to see Lateral View |
Barnacle Nauplius This is the first larval stage of a barnacle. Barnacles are in this stage of life for only a few days before they grow into a second larval stage (Cypris) before setting on a hard surface to grow into an adult. There are four species of barnacles in the Chesapeake Bay that survive by catching small plankton with their extended appendages. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Crustacea |
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Amphipod Amphipods are shrimp-like animals identified by the lateral flattening of their bodies (flattened side to side). They are major predators in the biofilm and plankton communities. Several species of amphipods live in the seagrasses and shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay. There are both free-swimming and tube-building varieties of amphipods. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Crustacea |
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Hydroid Hydroids grow in colonies on hard surfaces in the Chesapeake Bay. They have stinging tentacles, which they use to stun their prey before digesting it. Hydroids have a sheath into which they can retract for protection. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria |
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Copeopod Copeopods are more abundant than any other group of animals on earth. Over 50 species live in the Chesapeake Bay. They feed on phytoplankton, detritus, bacteria, or protozoans, depending on the species. In turn, copeopods are consumed by many invertebrates and fish (especially larval stages of fish). Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Crustacea |
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Dusky Sea Slug (Stiliger fuscatus) Sea slugs are mollusks that only have shells in their larval stages. They are identified by two pairs of tentacles. The dusky sea slug grows to be 1/4" and is herbivorous, feeding on algae. Dusky sea slugs are dark gray with a pale yellow foot and have cerata on the back half of the body. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda |
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Rotifer Rotifers are microscopic, transparent animals. They appear to whirl as the rings of cilia surrounding their anterior end beat. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Rotifera |
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Bacillaria Bacillaria are rod shaped diatoms that look like small rulers under the microscope. This unicellular algae grows in colonies which are able to move. Bacillaria achieve this gliding motion by secreting chemicals out of their cell walls. Kingdom: Protista Phylum: Bacillariophyta |
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Chain Diatoms These disk shaped diatoms grow in colonies that look like chains. The chains may be short and made up of only a few individuals or they may be very long and include numerous single-celled organisms. Kingdom: Protista Phylum: Bacillariophyta |
 100x Click to see a close-up view |
Stentor Stentors are trumpet-shaped, microscopic, single-celled organisms with cilia covering the entire body. Stentors may be free-floating, attached to a substrate with stalks, or living in colonial "balls". They may be seen feeding on phytoplankton. Kingdom: Protista Phylum: Ciliophora |
 100x Click to see a close-up view |
Colonial Ciliates Colonial ciliates are microscopic, single-celled organisms which grow in colonies. Individuals have cup-shaped bodies with cilia surrounding the open end. The colony is connected with long strings of tissue, giving the colony the appearance of "a bunch of balloons". Colonial ciliates may be observed stretched out and feeding by creating a current with their cilia. When disturbed, the colony retracts and stops feeding. Kingdom: Protista Phylum: Ciliophora |
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Radiolarian Radiolarians are unicellular, microscopic organisms surrounded by skeletons made of silica. Many radiolarians take on the star shape seen in this individual. Kingdom: Protista Phylum: Actinopoda |
