Tube-dwelling nematodes: tube construction and possible ecological effects on sediment-water interfaces

Abstract

T: Free-living marine nematodes of the genus Ptycholaimellus build membranous tubes from detritus bound by released mucus. The mucus is produced by a ventral gland cell opening close to the lips and probably also from hypodermal gland cells along the body wall. The tubes are about 50 [xm in diameter, sinuous, and situated vertically down to 1 cm depth; they open at the sediment-water interface. These findings suggest that the nematodes may play a significant role at the interfaces by increasing pore water exchange and stabilizing newly sedimented detritus with excreted muc