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Nemertea - Ribbon worms

NICHE

INTERACTIONS

Evolutionary result of an organisms morphological, behavioral, and physiological adaptations

WHAT EATS IT

WHAT IT EATS

Curlew sandpiper

  • Invertebrates (crustaceans, annelids)
  • Eggs belonging to other invertebrates

Calidris ferruginea

Habitats:

Proboscis allows them to catch their prey

  • tidal flats
  • beaches
  • mudflats and beaches along coast
  • muddy edges of ponds and lakes
  • sticky
  • suckers
  • sharp spike

Horseshoe crab

Make new ones or use replacement ones that are kept in internal pouches in case it breaks

ABIOTIC

Limulidae

Waves

Habitats:

Shallow ocean sandy and muddy bottoms

INTERACTIONS

ADAPTATIONS

Ability to regenerate after a predator takes a bite

Able to shrink as much as a tenth of their length which helps hide from predators

Bad taste

Proboscis allows them to pull themselves forward

Produce mucus

BIOTIC

  • Hard to catch
  • Keeps them from drying out during low tides

WHAT ARE NEMERTEA?

  • Also known as ribbon worms or proboscis worms
  • Group of 1150 known species, mostly invertebrates found worldwide
  • unsegmented body, thin and elongated with no differentiated head
  • proboscis stored in the body-length long fluid-filled rhyncocoel when not in use. When activated, it's forced inside out with pressure from body muscle contractions to wrap around its prey
  • can contract their body to up to a tenth of their extended length
  • Use body muscles to move around
  • cilia covering the epidermis which produces mucus and allows them to glide across surfaces

EVOLUTIONARY TRAITS

LIFE CYCLES/STAGES

SEXES

MOVEMENT

Has separate sexes:

Most marine species!

Being hermaphroditic:

Head Glands create slime to slide on

Mostly immobile

Some use grappling hook action

Freshwater and terrestrial species!

SIMPLE REPRODUCTION

ADULTS

OTHER FEATURES

  • Lots of testes or ovaries in body wall
  • Larger species- When stimulated, break off into fragments that usually grow into individuals

- eggs and sperm released externally through pores or breakages in body wall

  • Some species- Break off routinely

EXTERNAL FERTILIZATION

PROBOSCIS

(prompted by mating behaviors and pheremones)

Suction Cup Mouth, attaching to host

Fluid Circulation, unique respiratory system

Can extend up to 300x length when disturbed

Eggs

Proboscis is irreversible

Venom subdues the prey

extend 30 times it's length

Development

Direct

Develop either:

  • Individually

End up as oval-shaped juveniles covered in cilia

- temporarily pelagic before becoming benthic

  • In clumps protected in egg masses
  • In ovaries until hatched

Indirect

1. Helmet-shaped with ciliated lobes in a swimming larval stage (pilidium)

2. Larval ectoderm separates to construct protective skin encasing metamorphosed juvenile

- Lives planktonically before shedding skin to settle on the benthos

In species where the worm hatches from a benthic egg case...

A desor larval stage happens where metamorphosis occurs

(Depending on species)

Nemertea found in washington

  • Purple-backed ribbon worm (Paranemertes peregrina)

WHAT ALLOWS THEM TO PROSPER?

  • The high number of their prey
  • Ability to regenerate
  • Light-edged ribbon worm (Cerebratulus californiesis)

Acelyn Bowman

Jacqueline Guerra

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