Место издания:KMK Scientific Press Ltd Russian Federation
Аннотация:Marine Annelides make up about half of the benthic biomass living on the bottom of the world ocean.
Most of the worms are active builders. They build tubes, constructions and labyrinth-like passage
systems in the upper sediment layer, which form a system of microbiotopes, significantly change the
macro and microstructure of the upper sediment layer, oxygen distribution, porosity and many other
parameters that determine the possibility of colonization of the sediment layer by small animals, fungi
and specific microflora. The fine structure of the tubes of sea worms was studied in representatives of
more than 13 families and more than 25 species of annelids. In addition to the annelids, the structure of
the tubes of several species of phoronids and the constructions of some marine amphipods were
studied. The obtained data showed that the tubes of polychaetes differ in a number of ultrastructural
characters. The thin structure of the tube allow us to determine the owner of the tube to the family, and
in some cases to the genus or species level. The main characters of agglutinated tubes are the mutual
orientation of the layers in the inner cylinder of the tube, as well as the details of the packing and fixing
of sediment particles in its outer layer. The microstructure of the amphipod constructions differs
significantly from that of annelid. An analysis of a number of fossil materials - remnants of tubes
(supposedly belonging to marine annelids) showed that the microstructure characteristic of polychaete
tubes is rarely preserved, since the grain of the rock replaces the material of the tube usually larger than
the elements of the microstructure. At the same time, some types of especially characteristic tiubes
could be identified in the fossil state. The study of the structure of the tubes in many cases will allow
answering questions about the lifestyle of animals living in the midst of the ground and inaccessible for
direct observation. This concerns questions about how animals increase the tube size (length and
diameter of the tube) as they grow, whether animals are able to dissolve the walls of the tube. How
animals build branching tubes. The ability of the worms to soften or dissolve the organic material of the
tube allows us to ask in what degree, the tubes can protect their owners from predators.