DAILY DRIT
By: Alice and Han
Habitat
Epigeic worms
- Surface Dwellers
- Lives in areas that have high organic matter
- Lives close to the surface of soil
- Eats decaying plants and dung
- Skin is dark in color
- Mostly small
- Don't form permanent burrows
- Moves fast due to strong muscles
- Topsoil Dwellers
- Lives in top 20 cm
- Most common in New Zealand
- Eats mostly soil but also goes up to surface for food
- Semi-permanent Burrows
- Slightly bigger than Epigeic worms
- Subsoil Dwellers
- Permanent Burrows as deep as 3 meters
- Eat only soil
- Little Pigment
- Very long
Some worms live in the crooks of branches and others are aquatic worms which live in water.
Epigeic Worms
Endogeic Worms
Anecic Worms
Mr. Long Earthworm
Email: fiveheartslotsoflove@slithe.com
Website: www.underground.com/profile/Mr.LongEarthworm
Location: Bob's Backyard Garden
Phone: 972-654-348
Facebook: facebook.com/handyworm
Twitter: @twitterbirdhate
Adaptation
3 Types of Adaptation
Behavioral
Physical
PhysiologicalBehavioral :
- Cannot see or hear, but are sensitive to vibrations. This helps the worms sometimes get away from predators. They remember the vibrations a mole makes and when they feel the same vibration, they recognize it and run away.
- Are sensitive to light. That is why you may see them mostly at night.
- Lose moisture through their skin. That is why they move to moist ground, so that they can survive.
Physical:
- A special worm in New Zealand emits a fluid when it is disturbed. It is called bioluminescence fluid.
- Aestivation is a process where the worm becomes inactive when the temperature of the environment gets too hot or cold.
Physiological :
- Thin and slender body shape - Helps navigate through small tunnels
- Setae - These hairs provide some grip to help the earthworm move through the soil.
- 2 muscles run along the side of the works body. These two groups of muscles work together to help the earthworm move.
- A worm pushes it’s pharynx out of its mouth to grab food and and pulls it back inside its mouth to wet it with saliva.
- Mucus (coelomic fluid) is produced by the worm to help it move easily around in the soil.
There is a "Hole" New World Underneath Your Feet!
Bioluminescence Fluid
Since it is dark underground, this sudden burst of light just might do the trick to scare the predator away.
Setae
Some worms have more developed setae than others because they have adapted to their environment differently than others.
Clitellum
This is like the reproductive system of a worm.
Annual Water Worm Festival
The Festival is a place where you can share life facts on what to eat, how to dig deeper, and other useful life facts. It is also a place where things from all around the world can be shared! But mostly it is a very wet event that will wet you down to the bone making you feel replenished and moisturized. So come down to Annapolis to socialize with the whole worm world!
Thursday, Jan 1, 2015, 10:00 PM
Water Water Everywhere, Solomons Island Road, Annapolis, MD, United States
LifeStyle
Worms are very different from humans.
- Their lifespans are shorter and they have many predators like moles.
- They are sensitive to temperature changes.
- Worms breathe through their skin.
- Air dissolves on the mucus on a worm’s skin.
If a worm’s skin ever dries out, the worm will suffocate.
- Worms do not have teeth, instead their mouth is extremely strong.
The front of the worm is pointed and firm so it can push its way through crevices and eat through its burrows.
- Worms do not hear but they can sense the vibrations of near by animals moving.
- A worm’s body has many segments. Each segment has stiff hair-like structures called setae.
Worms have 2 types of muscles:
- Circular Muscles
Circular muscles,the outer layer of muscle, decrease the diameter but increases the length of an earthworm's body when contracted.
- Longitudinal Muscles
The inner layer of muscles, which are longitudinal, shortens but widens the body when contracted.
Steps a worm takes to move forward;
It grips the soil with its back setae so the back part of it is stuck to the dirt.
It squeezes its circular muscles, which makes its body get longer. Because the back of the body is gripping the soil, only the front part of the body moves forward.
The front setae grip the soil and the back setae lets go.
The worm squeezes its longitudinal muscles, which makes its body shorter. The back part moves forward.