Annelids of Maryland featuring the Water Nymph Worms

Annelids, or segmented worms, are a highly diverse group of invertebrates that are key components of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. They include the familiar earthworms as well as a large diversity of less familiar freshwater and marine worms. Often one of the most abundant animal groups in an ecosystem, annelids perform key ecological roles including affecting sediment characteristics, feeding on detritus and other organisms, and serving as important prey items for other animals.
This presentation will provide an overview of the wonderful diversity and interesting natural histories of annelids in Maryland, with a particular focus on those found in freshwaters and the Chesapeake Bay. The presentation will also discuss current research on small and delicate freshwater annelids known as water nymph worms, a group of annelids that are found throughout Maryland and are capable of extensive regeneration and asexual reproduction.
Alexa Bely is a Professor of Biology at the University of Maryland. She runs a research lab focused on the diversity, reproduction, and regeneration of naid annelids, the water nymph worms. She teaches undergraduate courses on animal diversity and evolution and on invertebrate biology and also runs a program for undergraduate students completing a research honors thesis in biology. She has lived in several parts of the world but has spent most of her life in Maryland. She currently lives in College Park and loves exploring nature (including its microscopic life), sharing her enthusiasm for the natural world, and advocating for the restoration and preservation of natural areas.

[@philipharding8768]

I once saw a worm I've always wondered about. Context: I'm in Eastern Washington State, where we have hot dry summers and bitter cold winters. In the 1990s I had built a simple 12 x 16 foot pond with biological filter in my backyard. One summer afternoon I noticed a tiny transparent worm right at the waters edge, just under the water, moving a bit like an inch worm. It was about 3/4 of an inch long but would stretch out and contract as it moved, in addition to the inch worm motion. At one point the worm encountered a small pond snail which caused the worm to recoil and the snail to withdraw into its shell. Just as the snail seemed to relax and come out of its shell the little worm snapped forward, grabbing hold of the snail which pulled back into its shell, but apparently not fast or far enough because the little worm hollowed it out.
Anyway, this program is the first time I've ever heard of worms that eat snails being talked about. I don't think the worm had segments, I'm pretty sure it didn't have any appendages but it was so small and transparent I didn't even notice a head, but it must have had some way of latching on to the body of the snail.

[@MarylandNature]

That sounds like a fascinating encounter.