THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BURROW OF NEREIS-DIVERSICOLOR AND ITS QUANTIFICATION IN RELATION TO SEDIMENT-WATER EXCHANGE

Burrows of Nereis diversicolor in the field and in laboratory containers have been examined by resin casting and by X-radiographic imaging. Their construction, form and extent is described and comparisons made between burrows in the field and those constructed under laboratory conditions. A formula is derived for estimating the surface area of burrow walls averaged for worms in each of three main size classes. The application of the formula to data from three different intertidal sites in the River Tamar collected over 2 yr demonstrates seasonally varying increases in total sediment surface area due to burrow walls of up to 300%. The relevance of making such estimates in the context of sediment-water chemical exchange processes is discussed.