Sabellaria alveolata
{{Short description|Species of annelid worm}}
{{For|the other animal called "honeycomb worm"|sandcastle worm}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Honeycomb worm{{cite WoRMS |author=Gérard Bellan |year=2011 |title=Sabellaria alveolata (Linnaeus, 1767) |db=Polychaeta |id=130866 |access-date=December 6, 2011}}
| image = Sabellaria alveolata b.JPG
| taxon = Sabellaria alveolata
}}
Sabellaria alveolata, (also known as the honeycomb worm), is a reef-forming polychaete. It is distributed around the Mediterranean Sea, and from the north Atlantic Ocean to south Morocco. It is also found in the British Isles at its northern limit in the northeast Atlantic.{{cite book|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/honeycomb-worm|chapter=Honeycomb worm|title=Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia|year=2003|publisher=Gale|access-date=2009-08-01}} Its common name is derived from the honeycomb-like pattern it creates when building its tube reefs.
Description
File:Sabellaria alveolata reef.jpg
Sabellaria alveolata is an annelid (ringed worm) that lives in small tubes it constructs from cemented coarse sand and/or shell material, forming reefs. The tubes are arranged in close proximity and have a distinctive honeycomb-like appearance.{{cite web|url=http://www.ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=32 |access-date=2009-08-05 |title=Action plan for Sabellaria alveolata reefs |publisher=United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan|year=1999|author=Moffat A}} These reefs range from {{Convert|30|cm|in}} to {{Convert|2|m|ft}}[http://www.baie-bourgneuf.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Hermelles-Natura-2000-DUBOIS-S.-2004.pdf Hermelles] thick and take the form of hummocks, sheets or more massive formations. Adult size ranges from {{Convert|30|to|40|mm|in}}. The thorax has three pairs of flattened chaetal sheaths, its chaetes form an operculum which is used to seal the tube opening. Depending on the local substrate, the colour of the tube varies.
Distribution
Sabellaria alveolata is found in the Mediterranean and the north Atlantic from Britain south to Morocco. In Britain and Ireland it is mainly found in inter-tidal zones along southern and western coasts from the Western Isles to Cornwall.{{cite web | author = Jackson, A. | year = 2008 | title = Sabellaria alveolata Honeycomb worm | editor1 = Tyler-Walters H. | editor2 = Hiscock K. | work = Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth | publisher = Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom | access-date = 2 March 2020 | url = https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1129}} The Wicklow Reef in the Irish Sea lies at a depth of 12–30 metres (39–98 ft) and is the only known example of a sub-tidal Sabellaria alveolata reef off the coast of Britain and Ireland.{{cite web|title=Wicklow Reef SAC - Site Synopsis|url=https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/protected-sites/synopsis/SY002274.pdf|access-date=14 May 2022|work=National Parks and Wildlife Service}}
Habitat and ecology
Sabellaria alveolata occurs on the bottom third or so of the intertidal zone and in the shallow subtidal zone. The worms construct different types of structures depending on the conditions. Where it occurs along rocky shorelines among bladderwrack then the agglomeration of tubes vary from thin encrustations if they are present at low densities to dense hummocks and mounds where there is a high density. The tubes are built from shell fragments or sand and are used to protect the worm from predators and can be repaired if damaged near the entrance. The tube is made up of a number of overlapping layers of material glued together with mucus. There are two sexes and spawning takes place in the spring and again in the autumn. The larvae develop in the water column and can detect the substance the adults use to bind their tubes and follow this to find a location to settle on. They are filter feeders and use cilia covered tentacles to extract food from the water. The reefs that they build encourage biodiversity.{{cite web | url = http://www.honeycombworms.org/Discover-Honeycomb-Reef-Worms/Honeycomb-Worm-Biology | title = Honeycomb Worm Biology | access-date = 25 March 2020 | publisher = The REEHAB Project}}
Conservation
Sabellaria alveolata is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan species. Published in 1994, the plan encouraged the mapping and surveying of S. alveolata reefs. It is also included in local Biodiversity Action Plans e.g. Newry, Mourne and Down in Northern Ireland.{{cite web | url = https://www.newrymournedown.org/media/uploads/LBAP.pdf | title = Newry, Mourne and Down Local Biodiversity Action Plan 2017-2022 | access-date = 25 March 2020 | publisher = Newry, Mourne and Down District Council}} In 2010 Natural England published a list of habitats of principal importance (priority habitats) which include S. alveolata reefs and provides a legal conservation mandate.{{cite web|title=Habitats and species of principal importance in England |url=https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/uk-bap-priority-habitats/ |publisher=Joint Nature Conservation Committee |date=17 October 2019 |access-date=5 September 2021}}
References
{{Commons category|Sabellaria alveolata}}
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