EBIO 111 – Diversity of Life – Bruce Fleury – Tulane University

Kingdom Animalia
PHYLUM ORGANISMS IMPORTANCE
Porifera sponges bath sponge industry
Euplectella, the Venus Basket sponge - mutualism
Cnidaria hydra, jellyfish, corals, sea Coral reefs – most diverse and productive ecosystems
wasps in the world
hydrozoans – important link in the freshwater food
chain
Reef fish and invertebrates harvested for aquarium
pet trade
Platylhelminthes flatworms Parasitic flatworms – Chinese Liver fluke, tapeworms
Schistosoma – schistosomiasis is a debilitating
tropical disease
Mollusca Clams, oysters, scallops, Multi-billion dollar seafood industry
mussels, snails, slugs,
conch, whelk, limpet, squid,
nautilus, octopus, chitons
Shells – souvenirs, jewelry
Oysters - pearls
Annelida Annelids (earthworms, Earthworms – soil aeration and soil fertility
tubeworms, paddleworms,
leeches)
Leeches – medical anti-coagulant for hundreds of
years
Worm ranching industry – sales to gardeners and
fisherman
Nematoda Roundworms Cause billions of dollars in crop damage every year
Important in soil aeration
Global recyclers of bacteria and fungi
Food for other animals
Nematode parasites – Ascaris, intestinal roundworm,
Trichinella, hookworms, pinworms, filarial worms
Arthropoda Arthropods Provide seafood
Pollinate fruit crops
Billions of dollars a year in crop damage
Cause or carry a host of diseases – malaria, the
plague
Critically important herbivores – primary converters of
plant tissue to animal tissues
Echinodermata Echinoderms Some starfish damage coral reefs
Sea cucumbers, sea urchin roe – Oriental delicacy –
million dollar seafood industry
Chaetognatha Arrow worms
Hemichordata Acorn worms
Chordata Chordates Fur, hair, hides
Food industry
Evolution of amniotic egg
Evolution of segmentation

Importance Tables created by Melissa Elli Geiss msjahban@tulane.edu

EBIO 111 – Diversity of Life – Bruce Fleury – Tulane University
Kingdom Fungi
PHYLUM ORGANISMS IMPORTANCE
Chytridiomycota Allomyces Ability to decompose some of the toughest
biomaterials – chitin, keratin, pollen
Black Wart Disease in potatoes
Glomeromycota Mycorrhizae, Glomus Essential for healthy growth of most modern plants
Provides nutrients to roots of plants
Zygomycota Molds, Rhizopus (bread
mold)
Ascomycota Sac fungi (yeasts, morels, Lichen – important food for tundra animals
truffles) (reindeer)
Diseases – athleteʼs foot, yeast infections, ring
worm, histoplasmosis (lung disease)
Ergot fungi produce LSD – decimated huge
population of Russian Empire, responsible for
Salem Witch Trials
Edible gourmet fungi
Basidiomycota Club fungi (mushrooms, Rusts and smuts – agricultural pests
puffballs, shelf fungi, rusts,
smuts)
Edible mushrooms (Portobello)
Myxomycota Plasmodial slime molds,
Physarum
Acrasiomycota Cellular slime molds,
Dictyostelium

Kingdom Plantae – Chlorophytes and Bryophytes

PHYLUM ORGANISMS IMPORTANCE
Chlorophyta Chara, Chlamydonomas,
Spirogyra, Volvox
Bryophyta Mosses, Mnium, Landscaping and gardening, especially peat moss
Sphagnum
Sphagnum historically used for dressing wounds
Peat moss – fuel
Most primitive living plants
Hepaticophyta Liverworts, Marchantia,
Conocephalum, Porella
Anthocerophyta Hornworts, Anthoceros Contain symbiotic colonies of the cyanobacteria
Nostoc and Anabaena

Importance Tables created by Melissa Elli Geiss msjahban@tulane.edu

EBIO 111 – Diversity of Life – Bruce Fleury – Tulane University

Kingdom Plantae – Tracheophytes (vascular tissue, no seeds)

PHYLUM ORGANISMS IMPORTANCE
Lycophyta club moss, quillworts, Ferns and fern allies are responsible for our modern
Lycopodium, Selaginella deposits of coal.
Sphenophyta Horsetails, Equisetum Some fiddleheads are edible.
Psilophyta Whisk fern, Psilotum Ferns are important for florist, gardening, and
Pterophyta True ferns, Pteris landscape industries.

Kingdom Plantae – Gymnosperms

PHYLUM ORGANISMS IMPORTANCE
Gnetophyta Ephedra, Gnetum, Natural source of ephedrin – used to treat hay fever,
Welwitschia sinus headaches, asthma
Cycadophyta Cycads (Cycas revoluta) Zamia floridana – only cycad native to U.S. – used
by Seminoles as a source of food
Landscaping – add nitrogen to the soil for other
plants
Grounded stems – sago flour in India, Japan, and
other Eastern nations
Ginkgophyta Ginkgo biloba Used for bonsai
Source of herbal medicine
Popular urban shade trees (because of their yellow
autumn foliage and their resistance to air pollution)
Coniferophyta Conifers (Pinus) Resin, pitch, turpentine, lumber, paper
Christmas trees
Pine seeds – critical source of food for wildlife

Kingdom Plantae – Angiosperms

PHYLUM ORGANISMS IMPORTANCE
Anthophyta Flowering plants Agricultural crops

Commercial fruits and flowers are multi-billion dollar

industry
Dominant planetary vegetation

Importance Tables created by Melissa Elli Geiss msjahban@tulane.edu