![\"NephtysGIF\"](\"http:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/139\/2015\/12\/NephtysGIF.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The Nephtys metatrochophore<\/em> is of the Annelid<\/em> order and the Polychaete Nereidae<\/em> family.\u00a0 Annelidia<\/em>, also known as ring worms, include thousands of kinds of species and \u201cconstitute the dominant benthic macrofauna from the intertidal zone down to the deep sea.\u201d Annelidia<\/em> are split into two groups: Clitellata<\/em>, which are earthworms and leeches, and polychaeta<\/em>, which are bristle worms like the ones depicted in the pictures.\u00a0 Little is known about the exact evolutionary measures that divided Clitellata <\/em>from polychaeta<\/em>. [1]<\/a> \u00a0The polychaeta metatrochophore <\/em>\u201chas two ciliary bands, the anterior prototroch and the posterior telotroch, which help in locomotion, and 10 body segments.\u201d\u00a0 As the organism grows, its cilia will become less helpful with movement.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 The worm that is depicted in the pictures is in a younger stage of life and it will eventually change form into a larger organism.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Polychaeta<\/em> can be found in shoreline environments along the tidal line, all the way down to the bottom of the seafloor and everywhere in between. \u00a0These organisms vary significantly in size and shape but are abundant in oceanic communities and are significant to aquatic food chains. \u00a0Because there are so many polycheata<\/em>\u00a0distributed throughout the waters, they are excellent research specimen for the overall health of the ocean.\u00a0Some polychaeta<\/em> are vestimentiferans<\/em>, meaning they live in upright, self created tubes near hydrothermal vents or sturdy rocks and share a symbiotic relationship with other\u00a0organisms for survival.[3]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0The movement of Nephtys polychaeta<\/em> can be described as a kind of contraction of muscles or as a locomotion.\u00a0 The movement of polychaeta <\/em>depend greatly on its habitat and stage of life.\u00a0 These organisms are known to burrow. [4]<\/a> \u00a0Other \u00a0polychaeta<\/em> can be found closer to the surface of the ocean.\u00a0 The population and ecology of many polychaeta<\/em> depend on physical factors of their environment and the fluctuation of other species presence in their vicinity.\u00a0 Because of their size and way of life, polychaeta<\/em> are \u201clong-lived species (i.e., years) with annual reproductive cycles and slower development rates.\u201d This species is known to be omnivores, predators, and scavengers.\u00a0<\/p>\n These Polychaeta grow up to 6 feet in length and live in self-created tubes at the bottom of the ocean near hydrothermal vents. Inspired by an image found at http:\/\/www.invertebrates.si.edu<\/p><\/div>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Polychaeta<\/em> go through a kind of metamorphosis in their lifetimes.\u00a0 The polychaete<\/em> depicted in the animated gif and most of these drawings is in a larval form.\u00a0 This means that the organism was about to go through important changes in its development and lifestyle.\u00a0 The organism was in a planktrophic stage because \u201cthe further evolution of larvae proceeds towards the information of special ciliated structures resulting in a more specialized larval form.\u201d \u00a0It is difficult to identify all of the larval forms of polychaeta<\/em> because the development varies significantly even within one group of polychaete.\u00a0 To describe types of larva, one must consider many factors other than just visual ques.\u00a0 One must understand reproductive aspects of the given kind of polychaete and also must understand the environmental variables at play that could affect its development.\u00a0 \u201cSveshnikov (1988) grouped polychaeta<\/em> according to the different larval types produced, underlining a morphological evolution of the larval forms.\u201d Sveshnikov\u2019s groups depended on whether the species was benthic or pelagic, whether or not the species received parental care, and if the species was producing trans-oceanic larvae.\u00a0 Despite all of these differences, it seems as though most polychaete larvae do not spend a large portion of their lives in benthic zones of the ocean.[5]<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Most polychaete<\/em> worms reproduce by discharging eggs into the ocean where they are fertilized in the water.\u00a0 Others are hermaphroditic and reproduce asexually.\u00a0 Another way that some polychaete<\/em> worms reproduce is through the process of \u201cbudding\u201d which is when a portion of the body disconnects and forms a new being.\u00a0 Polychaete<\/em> larva tend to stay closer to the surface while full grown polychaete<\/em> worms often gravitate towards soft-bottom sediment in their environment in which to burrow.<\/p>\n Ecological significance and Metaphor to human existence<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The ecological significance of these organisms is greatly attributed to their tendency to burrow.\u00a0 Polychaete <\/em>worms are capable of processing ocean sediment and will sift and burrow in the ocean floor to an extent that the species contributes significantly to rotating and distributing nutrient-rich matter throughout the ocean.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 In areas with a large human presence, polychaete <\/em>worms have been harmed in the case of waste management.\u00a0 When humans dispose of waste into the ocean, studies have found that the survival rate and consequentially the population of polychaete <\/em>worms is negatively impacted.[7]<\/a>\u00a0 It is important for the productivity of the waters that nutrient-rich sediments are cycled through by these burrowing worms.\u00a0 If our irresponsible consumption and disposal of waste creates harm to the oceanic community, we will be contributing to the demise of the productivity of the entire planet.\u00a0 We as humans should view these entities as the tillers of the soil.\u00a0 In terms of farming, tilling the soil is essential to the productivity and the yield of the crop.\u00a0 Polychaete <\/em>worms are just as important to the ocean\u2019s health and productivity as the farmer\u2019s tilling activities are to the abundance of food in this world.\u00a0<\/p>\n Along with Polychaeta being excellent “tillers of the soil” they can also be compared to aerating soil with those special aeration strap on shoes. Here is a polychaete version of aeration shoes, providing Oxygen to the mudflat substrates of the Washington Coastal region.<\/p><\/div>\n Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Struck, T., Paul, C., Hill, N., Hosel, C., Kube, M., Lieb, B., Meyer, A., Tiedmann, R., Purschke, G. & Bleidhorn, C. Polygenomic analyses unravel annelid evolution. Nature 471, 95-98 (2011)<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Svetlana Maslakova, \u201cInvertebrate Embryology,\u201d Invert-Embryo Blogspot<\/em>, 2013, http:\/\/invert-embryo.blogspot.com\/2013_04_01_archive.html.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Bright, M., Eichinger, I. & Plawen, L. The metatrochophore of a deep-sea hydrothermal vent vestimentifran (Polychaeta: Siboglinidae). Organisms, Diversity & Evolution, 163-188 (2013)<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Clark, R.B.: The eyes and the photonegative behavior of Nephtys<\/em> (Aneelida, Polychaeta). J. exp. Biol. 33, 461-477 (1956)<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> R.N. Gibson, Margaret Barnes, Oceanography and Marine Biology Volume 35 (London: UCL Press, 1997), 313-315.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> EncyclopediaBritannica Online, <\/em>s.v. \u201cpolychaete\u201d, accesed November 10, 2015, http:\/\/www.britannica.com\/animal\/polychaete<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>[7]<\/a> Zajac, Raman N., and Robert B. Whitlatch. 1988. \u201cPopulation Ecology of the Polychaete Nephtys Incisa in Long Island Sound and the Effects of Disturbance\u201d. Estuaries<\/em> 11 (2). Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation:117-33.http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/1351999<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Ciara Dunne<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2369,"featured_media":800,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[32,18,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2369"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/vms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>