Hediste diversicolor
Hediste diversicolor | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Annelida |
Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
Subclass: | Errantia |
Order: | Phyllodocida |
Family: | Nereididae |
Genus: | Hediste |
Species: | H. diversicolor
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Binomial name | |
Hediste diversicolor (O.F. Müller, 1776)[1]
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Synonyms[1] | |
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Hediste diversicolor, commonly known as a ragworm, is a
Description
Hediste diversicolor can grow up to 10 cm (4 in) in length and may have from ninety to one hundred twenty segments when mature. The head has a pair of palps, two pairs of antennae, four pairs of tentacles and four eyes. Each body segment has a pair of bristly appendages known as parapodia which are used for swimming. There is a prominent blood vessel running along the dorsal surface of the animal. This ragworm is pale brown but changes to green as the gonads mature and the breeding season approaches.[2][3]
Distribution and habitat
Hediste diversicolor is native to the north-east Atlantic. Its range extends from the
Biology
Examination of the contents of the gut shows that Hediste diversicolor is a
The sexes are separate in Hediste diversicolor, and females heavily outnumber the males. As the breeding season approaches, the males, which were previously indistinguishable from the females, turn bright green. At the same time, the females turn a duller dark green on the dorsal surface with their earlier orange-brown pigmentation still showing through. Eggs develop within the female's body cavity. Histolysis then occurs and the body wall becomes brittle and eventually bursts, liberating the eggs into the burrow.[2]
Synchronized spawning takes place in early spring, usually at the time of the new or full moon when the water has warmed up after the winter and attained a temperature above 6 °C (43 °F). The timing of this event varies throughout the worm's range and more southern populations mature at a year of age while more northerly ones may be three years old before they breed. The male seems to be attracted to a burrow occupied by a female by the release of a pheromone into the water. He crawls across the seabed and liberates sperm into the water just outside the entrance of the female's burrow. The sperm is drawn into the tube by the water current that the female creates by undulating her body. Here fertilisation takes place and the larvae are brooded for ten to fourteen days. Both males and females die after spawning.[2][7]
Ecology
Hediste diversicolor is widespread and common and is eaten by many species of birds and fish. It is the main food item for the pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta), the grey plover (Pluvialis squatarola), the curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), the bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica) and the curlew (Numenius arquata).[8] Several flatfish which live on intertidal mudflats feed on the ragworm. These include the common dab (Limanda limanda), the common sole (Solea solea), the European flounder (Platichthys flesus) and the European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa).[2]
Hediste diversicolor has been found to have a deleterious effect on the establishment of
Uses
Hediste diversicolor is used as a model laboratory animal for research. It has also been used to evaluate the quality of marine sediment because it bioaccumulates certain heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium and arsenic.[10][11] Anglers use it for bait when sea fishing, digging it out of the substrate with a large fork. It is also available commercially.[2]
References
- ^ a b Fauchald, Kristian (2013). "Hediste diversicolor (O.F. Müller, 1776)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
- ^ a b c d e f g Budd, Georgina (2008). "Ragworm: Hediste diversicolor". Marine Life Information Network. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
- ^ a b "Ragworm (Nereis diversicolor)". Science and Nature: Animals. BBC. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
- doi:10.1111/ivb.12060.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Costa, Pedro Fidalgo E.; Oliveira, Rui F.; Cancela da Fonseca, Luis (2006). "Feeding Ecology of Nereis diversicolor (O.F. Müller) (Annelida, Polychaeta) on Estuarine and Lagoon Environments in the Southwest Coast of Portugal" (PDF). Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences. 1 (2): 114–126.
- ^ Zhu, Z., J. van Belzen, T. Hong, T. Kunihiro, T. Ysebaert, P. M. J. Herman, et al. (2016). Sprouting as a gardening strategy to obtain superior supplementary food: evidence from a seed-caching marine worm. Ecology. doi: 10.1002/ecy.1613
- S2CID 86682968.
- JSTOR 2402803.
- .
- S2CID 12568097.
- ^ Septier, François; Dhainaut, Nicole (1992). Etude de la bioconcentration de métaux lourds chez une annélide polychète estuarienne endobenthique (Nereis diversicolor). Utilisation des plans factoriels pour une meilleure évaluation des risques écotoxicologiques liés aux interactions métalliques [Study of the uptake of heavy metal by a burrowing annelid polychete (Nereis diversicolor). Use of experimental designs for a better evaluation of the ecotoxicological risks related to metal interactions]. Doctoral thesis, Université de Lille 1, France.