Mucus Glues Sand and Rock

photograph of tan reef on top of the ocean

Biological Strategy

Sabellaria worms

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Image: Andrea Bonifazi / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY SA - Creative Commons Attribution + ShareAlike

Attach Permanently

A living system can conserve energy by attaching permanently to a particular site because it can take advantage of resources that come its way, rather than expending energy to move to resources. A permanent attachment, intended to last the lifetime of the living system, creates special challenges. For example, physical mechanisms, such as the anchor that holds a marine algae to the ocean’s bottom, must be able to withstand forces that can pull it off its substrate. Chemical mechanisms, such as a barnacle’s glue, must avoid both physical and chemical breakdown, such as being dissolved by water.

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Animals

Kingdom Animalia (“having breath or soul”): Mammals, reptiles, sponges, corals, insects, birds

This kingdom captures a staggering variety of life—from the smallest coral polyp to the largest elephant. Although animal body shapes and life histories vary, there are a few defining characteristics. Animals are heterotrophs, meaning they gain energy from eating other organisms, and have developed from single-celled ancestors to highly diversified and coordinated multicellular forms. Unlike plant and fungi cells that have rigid cell walls, animal cells are bound by more flexible combinations of proteins. Most animals have cells organized into tissues and are able to move within their environment.

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Sand tubes created by marine worms are glued together with mucus.

Introduction

Introduction In the deep blue sea, there are creatures that build their homes from the grains of sand that line the seafloor. These houses not only provide them with shelter from predators, but also act as a perch from which they can extend their tentacles to feed on passing plankton.

Image: Wikimedia Commons /

Close up of reef constructed by the honeycomb worm (Sabellaria alveolata), Praia da Aguda, Arcozelo, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal

Image: Wikimedia Commons /

Reef constructed by the honeycomb worm (Sabellaria alveolata), Praia da Aguda, Arcozelo, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal

The Strategy

Sabellaria worms are marine creatures that build tubes out of sand and mucus in order to protect themselves from predators. The tubes provide the worms with a safe place to hide when they are not covered by water, and extend their tentacles out to feed when they are. The tubes are built by the worms cementing together particles of sand and rock. The worms secrete mucus from their bodies, which acts as a glue to hold the sand grains together. The tubes can be up to 30 mm long, and the worms can build them into extensive reefs made up of millions of tubes.

The Potential

The ability of Sabellaria worms to build their homes out of sand and mucus could be emulated by humans in a number of ways. For example, the worms could be used to create environmentally friendly building materials that are biodegradable and non-toxic. The worms could also be used to create artificial reefs that could provide homes for other marine creatures.

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Last Updated August 18, 2016

References

“The colonies built by Sabellaria worms on seashore rocks look like very untidy honeycombs. The worms construct tubes of sand grains stuck together with mucus.

“This surface of a colony of Sabellaria tubeworms (above and left) looks like an untidy and somewhat squashed honeycomb. Sabellaria worms are marine worms about 30 mm long which build tubes by cementing together particles of sand and rock. When not covered by the tide, the worms remain hidden inside the tube, but once covered with water, they protrude from its mouth and extend their tentacles to feed. Sabellaria colonies can form extensive reefs made up of millions of tubes.” (Foy and Oxford Scientific Films 1982:32-33)

Book

The grand design: Form and colour in animals

BLA Publishing Limited for J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd, Aldine House, London | 26/02/1983 | Sally Foy

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