A Brooding Marine Worm Found in Antarctica
Topic ~ Marine Science Biology - Worms
Source ~ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131127110349.htm
Author ~ The above story is based on materials provided by Universidad de Barcelona.
Date of Article ~ November 27, 2013
Source ~ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131127110349.htm
Author ~ The above story is based on materials provided by Universidad de Barcelona.
Date of Article ~ November 27, 2013
A worm found in Antarctica was unique for it's unexpected brooding and they brood similar like hens. The worms are "Nemerteans are a group of invertebrates mainly found in marine waters." The Nemerteans start the reproduction by creating a cocoon with a elastic layer and then lay the eggs on it. The unexpected part was that when the eggs were disturbed the female worms get defensive. The strange defensive behavior was caused due to Antarctica's weather conditions and was discovered by the research team "by researchers Conxita Àvila and Sergio Taboada, from the Department of Animal Biology of the University of Barcelona (UB) and members of the Institute of Research in Biodiversity (IRBio); Juan Junoy, from the University of Alcalá; Javier Cristobo, from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, and Gonzalo Giribet and Sónia Andrade, from the Harvard Univesity, among other experts."
I chose this article due to curiosity. I was curious about what the title meant and after reading it, I decided to do a report about this article. Also I saw the word "brooding" which I didn't know the meaning of it, so it was another reason for me to choose it. I found how the defensive behavior was due to the Antarctica weather interesting. I found it interesting; because I thought it would be a natural behavior if something disturbs the eggs then the mother worm would react by protecting it. Meaning that I think it would be a natural instinct for any mother. Such as if something strange was to disturb a human baby, the human mother would of course come help defend as a natural instinct. I also liked how the female worm creates a cocoon (like a soft bed) for the eggs to lay on.
I think that later the research group figures out that the defensive reaction wasn't just caused by the weather but also by protection of the cocoon. Or also a caution of the egg since it is very fragile and if maybe something went wrong the baby worms could be harmed. Another idea could be that the female worms don' t want the eggs to be disturbed, because if they are disturbed it could affect the egg's growth and slow down the growth time. I think that this article was significant because it expressed how the mother worms show their way of communicating how they protect their eggs. This action shows how much they care and are passionately waiting for their eggs to hatch.