Lanice conchilega

Description

Distribution and habitat

L. conchilega is found in the northern hemisphere in many parts of the world. It is found living in soft sediments, sand or muddy sand and among Zostera and benthic algae. It is tolerant of low salinity and is found in the eulittoral zone and at depths down to 1700 metres.

Biology

L. conchilega lives in a straight tube composed of large sand grains and shell fragments cemented with mucus that protrudes several centimetres from the surface of the sediment. The long tentacles protrude from the top searching for food particles and are supported by the fringe-like rim of the tube. The worm can retreat rapidly into the tube if danger threatens, and can extend the tube if it becomes buried in shifting sediment.

This worm can be found as a few scattered individuals or in populations of several thousand per square metre. Buhr and Winter considered it likely that at low densities, the worm is predominately a detritivore, feeding on organic particles such as foraminiferans, ciliates, copepods, algae and the faeces of echinoderms and molluscs.

Individual mason worms are either male or female and breeding occurs in spring and summer in the northern hemisphere. The larvae remain suspended in the plankton for about two months and during that time may become widely dispersed. After about five days, each larva starts to form a tube of slime and detritus, in which it develops further, and by the time it is sixty days old and ready to settle, it has twelve to fourteen thoracic segments.

Ecology

Large congregations of the mason worm can be considered as reef-building. Patches of tubes influence the habitat structure and are of consequence for the distribution and abundance of other species living under the seabed.

Between July and September the larvae contribute up to 15% of the zooplankton biomass.

L. conchilega is part of the diet of a number of wading birds and of young flat fish.

References

References

1. [http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=131495 World Register of Marine Species]
2. [http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=macrobenthos_polychaeta&id=628 Marine Species Identification Portal]
3. [http://www.marlin.ac.uk/reproduction.php?speciesID=3633 Marine Life Information Network]
4. [http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=zmns&id=262 Zooplankton and Micronekton of the North Sea]
5. Rabaut, M., Vincx, M., Degraer, S., 2009. Do ''Lanice conchilega'' (sandmason) aggregations classify as reefs? Quantifying habitat modifying effects. Helgol. Mar. Res. 63, 37-46.
6. Feral, P., 1989. Biosedimentological implications of the polychaete ''Lanice conchilega'' (Pallas) on the intertidal zone of two Norman sandy shores (France). B. Soc. Geol. Fr. 5, 1193-1200.
7. (2019). "You are not always what you eat—Fatty acid bioconversion and lipid homeostasis in the larvae of the sand mason worm Lanice conchilega". PLOS ONE.
8. [http://www.oceaneyephoto.com/photo_2318231.html British Marine Life]
9. Vanaverbeke J., U. Braeckman, S. Claus, W. Courtens, N. De Hauwere, S. Degraer, K. Deneudt, A. Goffin, J. Mees, B. Merckx, P. Provoost, M. Rabaut, K. Soetaert E. Stienen and M. Vincx (2009). Analysis of long-term data from the Belgian Continental Shelf in the framework of science-based management of the coastal North Sea. Workshop Report WestBanks, Oostende 29/10-31/10/2008.