Journal by Victor Mushimbami

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5632014805880740" crossorigin="anonymous"></script> NEMATODA Nematoda is a phylum of roundworms that belong to the Kingdom Animalia. Nematodes are found in almost any type of environment and include both free-living and parasitic species. They have a smooth and tough outer covering and a narrow cylindrical unsegmented body. Their name comes from the Greek word nema, meaning “thread”. One of the major features of animal complexity is segmentation. Segmentation is the repetition of anatomically identical units that can be added to and modified to serve different purposes as animals evolve. Segmentation is displayed by three large groups of animals: annelids, arthropods, and chordates. These groups share a common ancestor that lived about 600 million years ago3 Segmentation can be seen in our ribs, vertebrae, and even the folds in our brain. The first group of animals to show segmentation are the annelids. This group includes earthworms. If you look closely, you can see how their bodies look like rings joined together. The word “annelid” means “little ringed ones”. Earth Worms are super cool! Google-Photo *FEATURES OF EARTH WORMS AND ADAPTATION* Earth worms, also known as “oligochaetes”, are segmented worms that live mostly underground. This helps them avoid predators and keep their skins moist. Their moist skins allow them to breathe oxygen through their bodies. That is why they often come out during rainy seasons. When the soil is wet, they can move more easily and find new places to live. (SciShow Kids, 2016). Earth worms not only go underground for survival, but also for improving the soil. Their poo, or castings, are rich in nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus, which are elements that plants need for their growth. (Crash Course/Khan Academy, 2019). Earth worms feed on organic matter in the soil. They eat decomposing plants and roots. As they move through the soil, they make it and the plants healthier. This is something we cannot do. The tunnels they make allow water to flow into the soil and make it more suitable for plants. The earth worms also distribute nutrients in the soil as they move around. (SciShow Kids, 2016). You should not be surprised if you see me keeping them in my garden and feeding them trash. Yes, you heard me right, trash. What you might call trash is treasure to earth worms. I am happy to tell you that earth worms mean healthy soil, healthy soil means healthy plants, and healthy plants mean healthy people. We don’t make our own food, remember? We depend on plants to make glucose for us, through the process of photosynthesis. We should learn to appreciate earth worms whenever we see one. Don’t kill them, killing them disturbs the balance and results in unhealthy soil, unhealthy plants, and unhealthy people. (SciShow Kids, 2016). *MORPHOLOGY AND ANATOMY OF EARTH WORMS* The body of earth worms is cylindrical and divided into more than 100 segments. According to Extra Class, “the segments are similar and called as metameres and they are about 100 to 120 in number” (2020). There is a dark dorsal line on their upper bodies and a ventral side that is distinguished by the presence of genital openings. (Extra Class, 2020). The mouth is located in the first segment, called “peristomium” or “buccal segment”. The segments 14th to 16th are covered by a dark band of glandular tissue, which is known as “clitellum”, when an earth worm matures. The clitellum makes the body of the earth worm appear in three parts. There is the first part, where the mouth is, called “pre-clitellar”; then there is the clitellum itself; and there is the last part, known as “post-clitellar”, which can be considered as a tail. (Extra Class, 2020). Google-Photo *THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE AND REPRODUCTION OF EARTH WORMS* The earth worm has an alimentary canal that runs from the first to the last segment of its body. The mouth of the worm leads to the pharynx, which is a muscular organ that helps the worm suck in food. After the pharynx, there is the oesophagus, which passes through the 5th and 7th segments. The oesophagus connects to the muscular gizzard, which is located in the 8th and 9th segments. The gizzard helps the worm to grind the soil and decomposing plants that it eats. (Extra Class, 2020) The stomach of the worm extends from the 9th to the 14th segment. It has a calciferous gland, which neutralizes the humic acids in the soil. Then, there is the intestine, which starts from the 15th segment and ends at the last segment. The intestine is where the digestion and absorption of nutrients take place. The waste products are eliminated through the anus, which is at the end of the body. (Extra Class, 2020). The earth worm is a hermaphrodite, which means it has both male and female reproductive organs. However, it cannot fertilize itself and needs another worm to mate with. During the mating season, two worms align themselves opposite to each other and exchange sperm. Then, they secrete a mucus ring around their bodies, which forms a cocoon that contains the eggs and the sperm. The worms then separate and the cocoons slide off their bodies. The cocoons are buried in the soil and hatch after a few weeks or months, depending on the environmental conditions. The young worms grow into adults in about a year. (Extra Class, 2020). REFERENCE Crush Course. (2019). Complex Animals: Annelids & Arthropods. Khan Academy [video]. YouTube. SciShow Kids. (2016). Worms are wonderful. [video]. YouTube. Extra Class. (2020). What are the features of Earth Worms? Extraclass.com. [video]. YouTube.
	Submissi

NEMATODA

Nematoda is a phylum of roundworms that belong to the Kingdom Animalia. Nematodes are found in almost any type of environment and include both free-living and parasitic species. They have a smooth and tough outer covering and a narrow cylindrical unsegmented body. Their name comes from the Greek word nema, meaning “thread”.

One of the major features of animal complexity is segmentation. Segmentation is the repetition of anatomically identical units that can be added to and modified to serve different purposes as animals evolve. Segmentation is displayed by three large groups of animals: annelids, arthropods, and chordates. These groups share a common ancestor that lived about 600 million years ago3 Segmentation can be seen in our ribs, vertebrae, and even the folds in our brain.

The first group of animals to show segmentation are the annelids. This group includes earthworms. If you look closely, you can see how their bodies look like rings joined together. The word “annelid” means “little ringed ones”.

Earth Worms are super cool! Google-Photo

FEATURES OF EARTH WORMS AND ADAPTATION

Earth worms, also known as “oligochaetes”, are segmented worms that live mostly underground. This helps them avoid predators and keep their skins moist. Their moist skins allow them to breathe oxygen through their bodies. That is why they often come out during rainy seasons. When the soil is wet, they can move more easily and find new places to live. (SciShow Kids, 2016).

Earth worms not only go underground for survival, but also for improving the soil. Their poo, or castings, are rich in nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus, which are elements that plants need for their growth. (Crash Course/Khan Academy, 2019).

Earth worms feed on organic matter in the soil. They eat decomposing plants and roots. As they move through the soil, they make it and the plants healthier. This is something we cannot do. The tunnels they make allow water to flow into the soil and make it more suitable for plants. The earth worms also distribute nutrients in the soil as they move around. (SciShow Kids, 2016).

You should not be surprised if you see me keeping them in my garden and feeding them trash. Yes, you heard me right, trash. What you might call trash is treasure to earth worms. I am happy to tell you that earth worms mean healthy soil, healthy soil means healthy plants, and healthy plants mean healthy people. We don’t make our own food, remember? We depend on plants to make glucose for us, through the process of photosynthesis. We should learn to appreciate earth worms whenever we see one. Don’t kill them, killing them disturbs the balance and results in unhealthy soil, unhealthy plants, and unhealthy people. (SciShow Kids, 2016).

MORPHOLOGY AND ANATOMY OF EARTH WORMS

The body of earth worms is cylindrical and divided into more than 100 segments. According to Extra Class, “the segments are similar and called as metameres and they are about 100 to 120 in number” (2020). There is a dark dorsal line on their upper bodies and a ventral side that is distinguished by the presence of genital openings. (Extra Class, 2020).

The mouth is located in the first segment, called “peristomium” or “buccal segment”. The segments 14th to 16th are covered by a dark band of glandular tissue, which is known as “clitellum”, when an earth worm matures. The clitellum makes the body of the earth worm appear in three parts. There is the first part, where the mouth is, called “pre-clitellar”; then there is the clitellum itself; and there is the last part, known as “post-clitellar”, which can be considered as a tail. (Extra Class, 2020).

Google-Photo

THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE AND REPRODUCTION OF EARTH WORMS

The earth worm has an alimentary canal that runs from the first to the last segment of its body. The mouth of the worm leads to the pharynx, which is a muscular organ that helps the worm suck in food. After the pharynx, there is the oesophagus, which passes through the 5th and 7th segments. The oesophagus connects to the muscular gizzard, which is located in the 8th and 9th segments. The gizzard helps the worm to grind the soil and decomposing plants that it eats. (Extra Class, 2020)

The stomach of the worm extends from the 9th to the 14th segment. It has a calciferous gland, which neutralizes the humic acids in the soil. Then, there is the intestine, which starts from the 15th segment and ends at the last segment. The intestine is where the digestion and absorption of nutrients take place. The waste products are eliminated through the anus, which is at the end of the body. (Extra Class, 2020).

The earth worm is a hermaphrodite, which means it has both male and female reproductive organs. However, it cannot fertilize itself and needs another worm to mate with. During the mating season, two worms align themselves opposite to each other and exchange sperm. Then, they secrete a mucus ring around their bodies, which forms a cocoon that contains the eggs and the sperm. The worms then separate and the cocoons slide off their bodies. The cocoons are buried in the soil and hatch after a few weeks or months, depending on the environmental conditions. The young worms grow into adults in about a year. (Extra Class, 2020).

REFERENCE

Crush Course. (2019). Complex Animals: Annelids & Arthropods. Khan Academy [video]. YouTube.