A case study on the feeding ecology and habits of the Prostoma jenningsi (Nemertea Hoplonemertea) specimens found at the Twin Lakes, Croston site

Abstract

This study looked at the feeding ecology and habits of Prostoma jenningsi,a species that belongs to the often understudied and undervalued phylum of Nemertea.Nemerteans are usually found in marine environments; however, P.jenningsi is one of the few freshwater species that exist and is considered endemic to the county of Lancashire. The limited knowledge available regarding this nemertean meant that it was open to a broad range of study to try and understand the role this nemertean has in natural communities and what this means for its future conservation. Nemerteans and potential prey items were first collected from the Twin Lakes site in order to undertake a preliminary feeding preference experiment to find both what prey the nemertean was likely to feed upon and to ensure that both prey and nemertean specimens were able to be kept alive under laboratory conditions. This
allowed the main feeding preference experiment to be undertaken using nemerteans collected from the Twin Lakes site and potential prey items collected from the Clay Ole’ pond site. The results from this experiment then allowed for an observation experiment to be undertaken examining how the nemerteans preyed upon their preferred species. The main findings of this study are that P. jenningsi chooses to prey on both an unidentified white worm and Stylaria, and this is done via coiling itself around the prey and releasing its proboscis to immobilise it. Feeding then occurred via the nemertean consuming the prey completely from the posterior region upwards.