Christmas Tree Worm Eating

As sedentary inhabitants of coral reefs christmas tree worms feed primarily by filter feeding.

Christmas tree worm eating. Like most tube worms christmas tree worms need sustained healthy feeding to survive. Christmas tree worms spirobranchus giganteus are polychaete ciliary feeders that feed using their radioles the hair like appendages or feathers that circle outward from the central spine to catch phytoplankton floating by in the water. However they are most commonly found on juniper arborvitae spruce and other evergreens.

This somewhat specialized diet along with this species intolerance for strong direct water movement make it somewhat difficult to feed. Most of the larger species eat ciliates organic detritus and certain types of invertebrate larvae such as zooplankton and phytoplankton. Cilia then pass the food to the worm s mouth.

Each worm has two brightly colored crowns that protrude from its tube like body. Learn more in our marine life encyclopedia at oceana org marine life subscribe to our. The bags somewhat resemble small christmas tree ornaments hanging from the tree bagworms feed on the foliage of a wide variety of trees and shrubs.

They use their brightly colored radioles to filter microorganisms from the water which are then deposited straight into the worm s digestive tract. The christmas tree worm feeds by trapping plankton and other small particles on their plumes. The common name for these worms is derived from their appearance not their habitat or diet.

The christmas tree worm is purely a filter feeding species whose diet should consist of plankton foods in the currents and should be supplemented with liquid plankton based foods. It lives in tropical oceans not tannenbaums embedding itself in coral reefs and. The food is then passed down a food groove by ciliary tracts lines of tiny hair like extensions on the surface of cells that generate water currents to move food or mucus.

The spindle shaped bags are made of silk and bits of foliage needle fragments. Christmas tree worms live inside corals where they hide from predators. Giganteus is no exception.