New Jersey Scuba Diving

Tube Worms

Tube Worms

Tube worms live with their bodies buried in tubes that they construct in the soft bottom substrate. Fan Worms ( Sabella spp. and others, 1/8" to 8", right ) are among the most popular sights on tropical coral reefs. Few people realize that they are present in temperate waters as well.

Fan Worms, or "Featherdusters", have a frill of tentacles on the head with which they feed on plankton, and occasionally larger items. Food particles are trapped in sticky mucous and carried down into the mouth. Some Fan Worms have eyespots along the tentacles.

Despite appearances, Fan Worms are not related to any of the other tentacled creatures on this page but are actually polychaetes, related to clam worms.

Fan Worms — Myxicola infundibulum or something similar - note how the tentacles are joined almost to the ends, with no eyespots.

Fan Worms — Fan Worms are extremely sensitive, and withdraw into their tubes at the slightest disturbance, leaving behind a ball of mucous.

terebellid worm — The head of a terebellid worm on a subtidal mudflat in the Shark River. These are tube worms with long tentacles that spread out over the bottom. Cilia on the tentacles carry microscopic bits of food to the mouth ( see below. ) These worms do not sting like anemones.

terebellid worm anatomy — Tubeworm anatomy

Tube worm burrows — Tube worm burrows in the side of a freshly dug hole. The dark color of the sediment indicates anoxic ( no oxygen ) conditions, which is normal in this sort of muddy bottom.

Exposure Suits - Wetsuits

wetsuit

The minimum exposure protection you should plan on for New Jersey diving is a full 6 or 7 mm neoprene wetsuit, with equivalent hood, gloves, and boots. A common misconception about wetsuits is that the water inside keeps you warm. This is absolutely false - the less cold water that gets in, the warmer you will be. ( Some folks actually bring jugs of hot water and pour it into their wetsuits just before the dive. ) Once the suit floods and the water inside warms up, you do feel better, but that water got warmer because you got colder. The trick is to keep as much as possible of this warmed water inside the suit, but almost every motion you make will pump out some warm water, and bring in more cold.

Two things will reduce this pumping tendency. The first thing is a properly sized and fitted suit. A wetsuit should be snug, without crushing you, and there should be no large empty spaces inside when you put it on. Many people have a hard time finding a wetsuit that fits just right. The second thing is a well-made suit. Features of a superior wetsuit include:

More: Exposure Suits - Wetsuits ...