Feeding and digestion in terebellid polychaetes

Uncinial patterns and age determination in terebellid polychaetes

This work seeks morphological criteria for estimating age and hence for demographic population studies. Observations on 6 species of terebellid polychaetes revealed a continuous formation of uncinial plates throughout the individual's life. As the replacement proceeds, the size of uncinial plates increases and the torus bears larger and larger uncinial plates between the area where they appear ...

POWRE: A Pilot Study of Chemoreception Mechanisms in Deposit-Feeding Polychaetes

Sediment resuspension and boundary layer flow dramatically increase the growth rates of interface-feeding spionid polychaetes

Most spionid polychaetes switch from surface deposit feeding to suspension feeding as current velocity and the flux of suspended food particles increase in the benthic boundary layer. This hydrodynamically mediated feeding behavior has been well studied, but the impact of flow on the growth rates of juvenile spionids has not been tested extensively. I performed two experiments in counter-rotati...

Repeated pulse feeding induces functional stability in anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion is an environmental key technology in the future bio-based economy. To achieve functional stability, a minimal microbial community diversity is required. This microbial community should also have a certain 'elasticity', i.e. the ability to rapidly adapt to suboptimal conditions or stress. In this study it was evaluated whether a higher degree of functional stability could be...

Ecology and biology of chemoreception in polychaetes

Nervous system and sensory structure morphologies provide useful information for reconstructing phylogenetic relationships among the Polychaeta, Annelida, and Arthropoda. With the more common use of indirect immunocytochemistry and laser scanning confocal microscopy methods, the detailed information available from morphological studies has increased. Despite this wealth of information, developi...