Abstract
The behavior and activities of a terebellid polychaete, Eupolymnia heterobranchia, in the presence of artificially irrigated tubes and the effects of Eupolymnia and artificial irrigation on silicate removal from sediment pore waters were examined in the laboratory. Eupolymnia built more tubes and longer tubes in sediments containing artificially irrigated tubes relative to unventilated sediments. Moreover, worm tubes were located closer to artificially ventilated tubes than expected by chance. Silicate fluxes were positively related to the dry weight of worms and to the number of tubes in sediments when they consisted of either Eupolymnia tubes or artificially irrigated tubes alone. However when tube types were mixed (Eupolymnia + artificially irrigated tubes), silicate fluxes were lower than in sediments containing artificially ventilated tubes alone. Thus, worm behavior was altered by the presence of artificially irrigated tubes. In addition, interactions between worms and artificially ventilated tubes served to reduce silicate flux relative to sediments containing artificially ventilated tubes only.
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