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Segmented Worms

Introduction
Segmented worms are special because they can do so much stuff with no arms or legs. They can move without legs. Examples of Segmented Worms are: earthworms, marine worms and leeches. Actually, the more numerous and typical members of the phylum are marine, crawling or hiding under rocks, or living in burrows, or in tubes, or in the sediment. Now I will tell you more information about segmented worms. I hope that we will learn interesting things through this project.

Segmented Worms Characteristics

Segmented worms (phylum Annelids) are so named because of their elongated, more or less cylindrical bodies divided by grooves into a series of ring-like segments. Each segment contains nerve cells and waste-secreting organs. The digestive tract is not segmented. It is instead a continuous, through and through tube that runs through all segment walls. Just like the digestive tract, the nerve cord and the two main blood vessels are also continuous. Each body segment has some small blood vessels that connect to the two main blood vessels. These worms have a closed circulatory system. Segmented worms are bilaterally symmetrical (if you cut an earthworm along its vertical plane, the two resulting halves are identical to each other). Segmented Worms Habitat Segmented worms can be found in fresh and salt water. Earthworms can be found at just about every corner of the earth. They live in trees, bark, and under rocks, and along

rivers, near springs, and near ponds. Their favorite place to live, however, is in the earths rich soil. During the winter months they burrow deep within the earth until the surface warms again during the spring. During the warm summer months worms stay closer to the tops of soil where they create tunnels to wiggle in and out of. These tunnels are extremely important for plant life as they create a path for water and air, which is essential for the survival of plant life.

Earthworms Body Systems

Earthworms have a definite front end and backend. They have more than 100 body segments. Earthworms on the outside of each body segment have a bristle-like

structure called setae. Each body segment has four pairs of setae (except for the first and last segments). They use their setae to hold on to the soil and to move. The setae, made of a substance called chitin, are used in crawling or in swimming. They have bilateral symmetry. Their body is composed of: body cavity that holds the organ and two body openings: mouth and anus. Digestion and Excretion Earthworms get energy from the bits of leaves and other matter found in the soil. The soil ingested moves to the crop (sac used for storage). Then the gizzard (muscular structure behind the crop) grinds soil and the bite of organic material. Ground material passes to the intestine where the organic matter is broken down and the nutrients are absorbed by the blood. Wastes leave the worm through the anus.

How earthworms help fertilize the soil Earthworms take in soil and provide spaces for air and water to flow through it. They provide and mix the soil. Their wastes pile up at the openings to their burrows. The pile up is called casting (vermicompost), which helps fertilize the soil. Earthworms Circulatory System Earthworms have a closed circulatory system. Two blood vessels along the top of the body and one along the bottom of the body meet in the front end of the earthworm. There they connect to heart like structure called aortic arches. Aortic arches pump blood through the body. Earthworms Respiratory System Earthworms do not have gills or lungs. Oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged through their skin. This means, they breathe through their skin, so the worms

environment and the worms skin must be moist at all times. This allows the worm to breathe in oxygen. While the sand may be moist and wet closer the water, the majority of the sand is dry. If the worms skin dries out, the worm will die from suffocation. In addition, too much moisture can also be detrimental to worms. If too much water is present, it takes the place of oxygen, which will cause the worms to flee to the surface. Once on the surface, worms will be exposed to sunlight. If worms remain in the sunlight for too long, they can become paralyzed. It is covered with a thin film or watery

mucous. They do not survive in puddles of water.

Earthworms Nerve Response Earthworms have a small brain in their front segment. Nerves in each segment join to form a main nerve cord that connects to the brain. All major nervous, circulatory, and digestive organs are located near the head. The posterior segments, which are nearly identical to each other, contain peripheral structures for all of these systems. This means that if you cut the worm in half, it will die. However, if you cut the worm near the posterior portion (a third or less away from the very end) the worm can regrow that portion of its body. The posterior portion will not grow a new head.

Earthworms Reproduction Earthworms are hermaphrodites (Produce sperm and egg in the same body). An individual worm can't fertilize its own eggs. It has to receive sperm from another

earthworm in order to reproduce. They have 2 pairs of testes present in 10th and 11th segments. They are 2 pairs of seminal vesicles which produce, store and release the sperm via male pores, and ovaries and ovipores that release eggs via female pores. Marine Worms (Polychaetes) There exist more than 8,000 species of marine worms. They float, burrow, build structure or walk along the ocean. Some of them produce the own light. Marine worms like earthworms, have segment with setae. On these worms the setae occur in bundles. One Marine Worm example is Sessile (bottom-dwelling polychaetes) such as Christmas Tree Worms have specialized tentacles that are used for exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide and gathering food. Marine Worms and their larvae are food for many fish, invertebrates and mammals.

Leeches Leeches are segmented worms. Their bodies are not as round or as long as earthworms are. They dont have setae, but a sucker at each end of the body. They feed on the blood of other animals. Leeches can survive by eating aquatic insects and other organism (but they prefer to eat blood). Sometimes they are used after surgery to keep blood flowing to repaired area. They produce many chemicals, including an

anesthetic that numbs the wound so you dont feel its bite. Value of segmented worms Earthworms help aerate the soil by constantly burrowing through it. They speed up the return of nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil for use by plants (by grinding and partially digesting the large amount of material in the soil). Leeches researchers are developing drugs based on the chemical that come from leeches because leech saliva prevents blood clots. Origin of Segmented Worms Some scientist hypothesize that they evolved in the sea. Some fossils of tubes of marine worms date back about 620 million years. Similarities between mollusk and segmented worms suggest that they could have a common ancestor.

Conclusion
Segmented worms have great ecological importance in our habitats. They help us

because when they dig through the soil the help the plants with those holes so water and nutrients can go to the hole and when plant roots reach there they get the nutrients that are in the hole. That keeps the plants alive and that means they give oxygen and

we can breathe. Also their waste helps the soil get more nutrients and it gets fertilized. That means the plants have more nutrients. That is why I think segmented worms are very important to our ecosystem.

Vocabulary Words

Aerate: to supply with air

Setae: bristlelike structures on the outside of each body segment that helps segmented worms move.

Crop: digestive system sac in which earthworms store ingested soil.

Gizzard: muscular digestive system structure in which earthworms grind soil and organic matter.

References

Eldredge,N. 2008. Department of invertebrates. American Museum of Natural History. http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/hall_tour/spectrum/27.html

Earthworm. 2008. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For the LPG album, see The Earthworm (album).[Online] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthworm#Reproduction Glencoe/McGrawHill. 2008. Ch.13 Mollusk, Worms, Arthropods, Equinoderms. Section 2. Segmented worms. Printed in USA Mitchell, A. 2008. All About Anatomy of a Worm. Published by head worm, [Online]<a href="http://www.allaboutworms.com" target=_blank>Check out the worms at All About Worms!</a> Science encyclopedia vol.5. 2008. [online] <a href="http://science.jrank.org/pages/6062/Segmented-Worms.html">Segmented Worms</a>

Segmented Worms

Graphics

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Segmented Worms Body

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Segmented Worms Reproductive, nerve, circulatory and digestive systems

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Earthworm Digestion and Excretion

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Earthworm Circulatory System

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Earthworms Nerve Response

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Earthworms Reproduction