<\/em>Species name: Polychaete worms
<\/em>Common name: bristle worm<\/p>\n
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![\"Scan](\"http:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/139\/2015\/11\/Scan-6-117x300.jpg\")
Width 70 micro meter, length 700 micro metersgeneral characteristics<\/p><\/div>\n
General Characteristics<\/h2>\n
Polychaete<\/em> worms<\/em> are in the kingdom: <\/span>animalia<\/em>, phylum:\u00a0<\/span>annelida,<\/i> and class:\u00a0<\/span>polychaeta.<\/i>The word <\/span>polychaete<\/em> itself means \u201cmany brushes\u201d. This refers to one of the major distingushing characteristics of this marine worm which is <\/span>polychaete<\/em> always have\u00a0elongated, metameric (segmented) bodies with bristles or brushes on some or all of the metameric.\u00a0Along with these brushes on each of metameric there is also are a pair parapodia (appendages) protruding from each side (Polychaeta Facts & Information Bristle Worms, n.d.).\u00a0The purpose of these it to help allow the <\/span>polychaete\u2019s<\/em> movement, whether crawling, swimming, or burrowing.\u00a0The head of <\/span>polychaete<\/em> worms often have sensory organs or structures for example tentacular palps, antennae and cirri, however not all polychaete’s have this, it depends if they are\u00a0free-living worms Polychaete worm<\/em> in an intertidal environment.<\/p><\/div>\n Polychaetes<\/em> are mostly marine. They are most commonly \u00a0found at beaches, inter-tidal zones, high tide zones, islands, sea sediments, waste, watershed, marine biome, ocean (most depths), reefs, and sand. However \u00a0polychaetes<\/em> have been found in nearly any temperature or depth\u00a0(Polychaeta Facts & Information Bristle Worms, n.d.).\u00a0Bioturbation also know as the breaking down of organic sediment matter is the major role of polychaete worms,<\/em> especially those located in or near inter-tidal zones (Polychaetes: The Marine Worm, n.d.). In\u00a0Effects of two polychaete worms, Nereis diversicolor and Arenicola marina, on aerobic and anaerobic decomposition in a sandy marine sediment<\/i> by Gary T. Banta (et In the 21st\u00a0<\/sup>century\u00a0polychaete worms<\/em> symbolically represent a dinner plate. The ecological roles\u00a0polychaete worms<\/i> play aid the fishing industry because they help provide a healthy environment and a food source. The bioturbation that \u00a0polychaetes<\/em> do keeps the organic material from collecting bacteria and using up all the oxygen. Also being a food source to over one hundred organisms\u00a0polychaetes\u00a0<\/em>help to provide food for fish and their larva. Because of there important roles polychaete worms<\/em> aid the fishing industry that provides food for humans, thus symbolically represent a dinner plate to humans in the 21st<\/sup> century. \u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Introduction to the Polychaeta. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2015, from <\/span>http:\/\/www.ucmp.berkeley.edu\/annelida\/polyintro.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Polychaeta Facts & Information Bristle Worms. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2015, from <\/span>http:\/\/eol.org\/pages\/84\/data<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Australian Museum. (2015, October 26). Retrieved November 18, 2015, from <\/span>http:\/\/australianmuseum.net.au\/segmented-worms-the-polychaetes<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Fauchald, K., & Jumars, P. (1979). The Diet of Worms: A Study of Polychaete Feeding Guilds. Retrieved November 18, 2015, from <\/span>http:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Peter_Jumars\/publication\/255608624_Diet_of_worms_a_study_of_polychaete_feeding_guilds\/links\/02e7e5371f8f32da<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n De Kluijve, M. (n.d.). Marine Species Identification Portal : Abyssoninoe hibernica. Retrieved November 18, 2015, from <\/span>http:\/\/species-identification.org\/species.php?species_group=macrobenthos_polychaeta&menuentry=inleiding&id=3&tab=foto<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n “Polychaetes: The Marine Worm” (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2015, from <\/span>http:\/\/lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg\/polychaete\/Introworms.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Woodin, S. (1974). Polychaete Abundance Patterns in a Marine Soft-Sediment Environment: The Importance of Biological Interactions. Retrieved November 18, 2015, from <\/span>http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/pdf\/1942310.pdf?acceptTC=true<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Gary T. Banta,Marianne Holmer, Mikael H. Jensen,Erik Kristensen (1999, October 1) Effects of two polychaete worms, Nereis diversicolor and Arenicola marina, on aerobic and anaerobic decomposition in a sandy marine sediment. Retrieved November 18, 2015, from <\/span>http:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Erik_Kristensen\/publication\/236628293_Effects_of_two_polychaete_worms_Nereis_diversicolor_and_Arenicola_marin<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n![\"Scan](\"http:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/139\/2015\/11\/Scan-7.jpg\")
<\/a>( move by crawling, swimming, or burrowing with parapodia) have these sensory organs\/structures, sedentary (don\u2019t move, permanent tube-dwellers) who don’t (Polychaeta Facts & Information Bristle Worms, n.d.). Polychaete’s have many different feeding habits (Fauchald, & Jumars, 1979), due to this some have jaws while others don’t\u00a0(De Kluijve, n.d.). Free-living <\/span>polychaetes<\/em> and sedentary <\/span>polychaetes<\/em> often have different body types specialized for whichever marine environment they inhabit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nMarine Environment and Ecology<\/h2>\n
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al) it was found that\u00a0polychaete worms,\u00a0<\/em>specifically\u00a0Nereis diversicolor and Arenicola marina,\u00a0<\/i>have many positive effects on the marine sediments. For
example\u00a0A. Marina had an sulfate reduction rate of 85% in the same scenario and N. Diversicolor stimulated total benthic metabolism in enriched sediments similarly to sediments enriched with organic matter. Along with bioturbation, polychaete worms<\/em> are also a vital part of the food chain.\u00a0Over one hundred organisms prey on polychaete worms such as copepods, nereis and sometimes even other polychaetes. polychaetes aren’t just preyed on by others though, they also prey on over fifty organism such as algae, protozoa and bacteria. The ecological roles\u00a0polychaete\u00a0<\/em>worms<\/em> play help both their marine environment and the other organisms that they coexist in these environments with.<\/p>\nWhat Polychaete Worms<\/em> <\/strong>Represent in the 21st\u00a0<\/sup>Century to Humans<\/h3>\n
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Citations\u00a0<\/h2>\n