• sold as bath sponges-most modern sponges, however, are made of plastic
• sponge diving has been practiced in Mediterranean for centures
• small local communities of Greek sponge divers in Tarpon Spring, Florida

• colonial forms form vast coral reefs of CaCO3 (calcium carbonate)
• coral reefs are among the most productive ecosystems
• reefs support commercial fisheries around the world
• reef fish and invertebrates are harvested for the aquarium pet trade

• cause of many infections
• infect human hosts, can cause jaundice, liver cancer, anemia, diarrhea, brain damage

• mollusks are delicious! escargot, scallops,,oysters, calamari, etc...
• multibillion dollar seafood industry
• pearls found in both fresh/saltwater forms (oysters)
• dye "Tyrian purple", important trade good in ancient world
• bivalves filter tremendous amounts of water, help remove pollutants, cleanse aquatic ecosystems

Phylum Annelida (worms)

• critically important in aerating soil
• 22-40 metric tons of soil per hectare pass through the guts of earthworms every year
• important in bait industry
• bite of leeches is antiseptic
• for centuries, doctors used leeches to bleed their patients

• economic importance:
• root nematodes cause over $5 billion crop damage per year
• several medically important species: harmful parasites that can cause swelling (elephantiasis), permanent organ/tissue damage, and death

1. hookworms/pinworms: common in schoolchildren

• at its peak in 19th/early 20th century, hookworm infected ~40% of all southerners
• victims become pale, anemic, fatigued, and have severe digestive problems

Phylum Arthropoda

(includes insects)

• economically important!
• seafood industry (edible insects)
• pollinate commercial crops (fruit)
• carry or cause many diseases (malaria, typhus, Lyme disease, bubonic plague...)
• pollinate flowering plants
• critical in most food chains
• primary converters of plant to animal tissue
• important for migratory birds (food)
• source of lystate, which clots around dangerous bacteria (used to test drugs for infective bacteria)
• mites are major crop pests
• ticks are blood-sucking parasites that carry several diseases (Lyme disease, Rocky mountain spotted fever)

Phylum Echinodermata

(starfish, sea urchins, etc.)

• ecologically important-can occur in large numbers and devastate kelp beds and coral reefs
• economically important-harvested for their gonads (thought to be an aphrodisiac)
• sea cucumbers are a prized delicacy
• sold as trepang or beche-de-mere

Phylum Chytridiomycota

(fungi)

• decompose many tough materials (pollen, chitin, keratin)
• found in guts of herbivores, helps them digest plant fiber
• many are parasites on algae/other plants

Phylum Glomeromycota

(fungi)

• mycorrhizae (root fungi)
• grow quickly through large volume of soil, locating scarce nutrients for plant roots (mutualism)

Phylum Ascomycota

(fungi)

• lichens-symbiotic relationship b/w fungi & green algae
• lichens important food for caribous
• sensitive to air pollution
• Dutch Elm Disease
• truffles
• ergot (drugs, induces labor, natural source of LSD)
• Penicillum
• Athlete's Foot

Phylum Basidiomycota

(fungi)

• psychoactive drugs
• mushrooms (food)
• corn smut (delicacy in Mexico)
• digests wood the best!

Phylum Lycophyta & Phylum Sphenophyta

• most of our modern coal deposits were formed by club mosses (Lycophyta) and horsetails (Sphenophyta)
• Sphenophyta- grow in waste places in roadside ditches "scouring rush"

Phylum Pterophyta

(true ferns)

• garden industry, florist trade, herbal remedies