Hello all,
I want to thank all who responded to my inquiries. I will let
you know of my findings, and find very interesting that some of my
observations concur with what I hear happens in distant environments.
First, the egg masses are "infested" with diatoms and ciliates as well as
the amphipods. Second, the amphipods tunnel through the masses, and I
have seen them grab the larvae and try to consume them. Whether they
succeed or not, I will know shortly. Additionally, as Julie Brock
mentions of her worms, these masses are low preference foods too (at
least for fish). We have extracted them before, but found no deterrent
chemistry (although I would like to run that one more carefully and with
fresh material). The larvae, however, are readily eaten once they
hatch. All in all, the system is perfect for looking at interactions on
different levels, and that is where I'm heading. It would be interesting
to see how the picture looks for worms with similar modes of reproduction
on different geographic areas...but, one thing at a time.
Seguiremos informando,
Edwin Cruz-Rivera Ph (919) 726-6841
Institute of Marine Sciences Fax (919) 726-2426
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill email: ecruzriv at email.unc.edu
3431 Arendell Street
Morehead City, NC 28557
