How do tube worms like feather dusters mate?
They mate in A LOT of different days. One way is to simply release sperm or egg at the same time everyone else is, hope the gametes meet up and form a zygote. The zygote develops into a free swimming larva (zooplankton) until it settles down. Here are some crazy looking deep sea tube worms. Read here to learn more. These are found near deep (1 mile down) hydrothermal vents.
What's faster an echinoderm or a scallop?
Here are two videos showing locomotion in a scallop and a clam. And you thought that only happened in cartoons!
How do dolphins or other marine mammals stay afloat when they sleep?
Dolphins and other marine mammals have a high blubber content. Simply put, fat floats. Here's what else I came across about sleep:
Marine mammals have two basic methods of sleeping: they either rest quietly in the water, or sleep while swimming slowly next to another animal. Dolphins also enter a deeper form of sleep at night where they become like a log floating on the water. When a baby dolphin is born it does not have enough body fat to float easily. The baby stays afloat by being towed in its mother's slipstream or wake even when it is sleeping. This means that the mother cannot stop swimming for the first several weeks of her baby's life!
To avoid drowning, it is crucial that cetaceans retain control of their blowhole and recognize when it is at the surface. When sleeping, dolphins shut down half of their brain and one eye. The other half stays awake at a lower level of alertness. The semi-conscious side watches for predators, obstacles, and signals when to rise to the surface for a breath of air. After 2 hours, things are reversed, the active side goes to sleep and the rested side looks after vital functions. Amazing!Courtesy of the University of Western Ontario
http://quark.physics.uwo.ca/~harwood/dolphins.html
I think some seniors have developed this technique, a semiconscious state with one eye looking for predators...or substitute teachers.
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