Extraordinarily high earthworm abundance in deposits of marine macrodetritus along two  semi-arid beaches

Coupland, Grey T.; McDonald, Justin I.

doi:10.3354/meps07351

Cited by 21 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In Japan, beach-cast seaweeds have been reported as important habitats and food for a diverse community of marine and terrestrial organisms, such as amphipods, isopods, and copepods (Okuda 2008). The habitats of P.litoralis in Japan are similar to those reported in Western Australia coastal areas, where the earthworms were recorded in high density within the wrack material, seaweed, and debris deposited on arid beaches, which provided a rich food resource and resulted in a high abundance of earthworms (Blakemore 2007; Coupland and McDonald 2008). Carlo et al (2012) reported the preference of P.litoralis to inhabit sites with an accumulation of macrodetritic matter that provided abundant organic matter contents and shade that helped to keep the soil surface cool during daytime.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Size variation and geographical distribution of the luminous earthworm Pontodrilus litoralis (Grube, 1855) (Clitellata, Megascolecidae) in Southeast Asia and Japan

Seesamut

Jirapatrasilp

Chanabun

et al. 2019

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The luminous earthworm Pontodriluslitoralis (Grube, 1855) occurs in a very wide range of subtropical and tropical coastal areas. Morphometrics on size variation (number of segments, body length and diameter) and genetic analysis using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene sequence were conducted on 14 populations of P.litoralis from Southeast Asia and Japan. Statistical inference on morphometric data revealed significantly different size variations in the body length and diameter among these 14 populations of P.litoralis. However, discordance between the morphometric and mitochondrial COI gene-based phylogenetic analyses was evident, where the size variations in P.litoralis showed a different pattern from the COI genetic differences. The update on the current distribution of P.litoralis is reported and revealed different aspects of the littoral habitat characteristics between Southeast Asia and Japan.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Size variation and geographical distribution of the luminous earthworm Pontodrilus litoralis (Grube, 1855) (Clitellata, Megascolecidae) in Southeast Asia and Japan

Seesamut

Jirapatrasilp

Chanabun

et al. 2019

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“…In this regard, several authors have shown how allochthonous subsidies of organic matter can greatly affect community structure, productivity and stability in a wide variety of marine and coastal ecosystems (e.g. Vetter 1994, Polis & Hurd 1996, Wernberg et al 2006, Coupland & McDonald 2008, Crawley et al 2009, Spiller et al 2010). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual cycle of wrack supply to sandy beaches: effect of the physical environment

Barreiro¹,

Gómez²,

Lastra³

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Connectivity between ecosystems has been widely recognised as an important issue in ecological studies. Sandy beaches are very dynamic and open ecosystems, mainly supported by allochthonous subsidies of stranded organic matter (mostly macroalgae), also termed wrack supply. The magnitude and composition of algal wrack biomass throughout the annual cycle was assessed for 6 sandy beaches on the Galician coast, NW Spain. The effect of wave action and the topographical features of each beach in the wrack deposition process were investigated. Wrack species composition, biomass and coverage were measured monthly along 6 transects at each beach. Mean dry weight of wrack fluctuated from 14 ± 5.3 to 9189 ± 3594 g m -1 (along transects) between locations. Wrack was predominantly composed of brown algae, which accounted for 70% of the average biomass year round; the dominant species were Cystoseira sp. (30.3 ± 17.4%) and Sargassum muticum (14.2 ± 7.1%). A cyclical pattern in wrack composition, coupled with the life cycle of the predominant macroalgae, was observed. Wrack biomass and species composition were mostly explained by wave height and the ratio of beach length to beach area. Small, wave-sheltered beaches received the largest inputs of wrack, and had the lowest relative contribution of brown algae. These results provide evidence that variability in wrack supply on sandy beaches can be explained through interactions between wave exposure, coastal topography and seasonality.

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“…A British television program [26] presented by David Attenborough showed that the French luminous earthworm Avelona ligra glowed when attacked by the carabid beetle, but the beetle consumed the luminescent worm without any hesitation. We consider that the absence of bioluminescence in P. longissimus may correlate with the habitats with low-predation pressure, whereas P. litoralis acquired a bioluminescence property during evolution that enables it to enter the surface environment of the beach, which is rich in nutrition and food sources [3,27] as well as in potential predators.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioluminescence and Fluorescence in Littoral Earthworms

Seesamut¹,

Yano²,

Paitio³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Pontodrilus litoralis is a cosmopolitan littoral earthworm known to exhibit bioluminescence. Recently, a congeneric species Pontodrilus longissimus from Thailand was described. These species are sympatric but their burrowing depths on Thai beaches are different. In this study, we examined the in vivo and in vitro bioluminescence properties of P. longissimus and P. litoralis. Mechanical stimulation induced in vivo luminescence in P. litoralis, as reported previously, but not in P. longissimus. In vitro cross-reaction tests between these species revealed the absence of luciferin and luciferase activities in P. longissimus. P. litoralis had strong fluorescence in a coelomic fluid that matches to the spectral maximum of its bioluminescence, but P. longissimus did not. These results suggest that P. longissimus does not have luminescence ability due to the lack of all bioluminescent components, luciferin, luciferase, and light emitter, despite its close relationship to the luminous P. litoralis. The presence of both luminous and non-luminous species in a single genus is uncommon, and our present findings will shed insight on the possible functions of bioluminescence in the earthworm, such as avoiding predation by littoral earwigs.

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Extraordinarily high earthworm abundance in deposits of marine macrodetritus along two semi-arid beaches

Cited by 21 publications

References 25 publications

Size variation and geographical distribution of the luminous earthworm Pontodrilus litoralis (Grube, 1855) (Clitellata, Megascolecidae) in Southeast Asia and Japan

Size variation and geographical distribution of the luminous earthworm Pontodrilus litoralis (Grube, 1855) (Clitellata, Megascolecidae) in Southeast Asia and Japan

Annual cycle of wrack supply to sandy beaches: effect of the physical environment

Bioluminescence and Fluorescence in Littoral Earthworms

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