This page is about animals without much tissue organization (sponges) or just two layers of body wall glued together with mesoglea (cnidarians). In the marine environment these organisms are important as filter feeders of plankton and fine detritus. The cnidarians include the corals that can build boulders of limestone in reef ecosystems. The protection of our coastlines from sea storm surge is one of the important functions of reefs. Corals are our line of defense on many of our warmer shores where hurricanes often hit hardest.

This page © Ross E. Koning 1994.

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