Grant: Engage Grants Program

The appearance of abundant worm colonies underneath cages at finfish aquaculture sites is a new phenomenonin Eastern Canada, and is a cause for concern as the ecological role of those worms is not known. Since theirdiscovery, these worms have been identified, and it is now known that they belong to the Dorvilleidae, a groupthat often colonizes sites with abundant organic matter and low dissolved oxygen. There is little known on themode of feeding and the metabolism of these worms, but it is thought that they might be feeding on microbesthat develop on decaying organic matter. For fish growers, it is important to know what these worms aredoing, and what type of impact they have on surrounding marine environments. This research focuses oninvestigating how these dorvilleid worms feed and how they affect nutrients and gases in the water thatsurrounds them. This research will help determine if these worms can help to speed up the decomposition offish wastes and food pellets, or remove toxic sulphides from the environment.