The Hindu : National : A wetland and its worms

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 10, 2005

National

National

A wetland and its worms

By Sunny Sebastian

JAIPUR, JAN. 9. Where there are birds, there ought to be worms too. The Keoladeo Ghana National Park near Bharatpur in Rajasthan has reported 27 new species of nematodes, or thread-like worms, which indicate the presence of rich meiofauna in the 29 sq km wetland. This UNESCO Heritage Site and Ramsar Wetland already has nematode species belonging to 80 genera.

Nematodes are the only triploblastic, pseudocoelomate organisms representing a complete yet simple body organisation. They are the most abundant multi-cellular organisms found in diverse geographical locations. They are known as ``thread worms'' thanks to their thin, worm-like body. The word ``nematode'' is derived from the Greek words ``nema'' and ``eidos'', which mean ``thread'' and ``form'' respectively.

Qudsia Tahseen, of the Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), whose three-year study unearthed the new species, has named one of the newly-identified species Hofmaenneria keoladeoensis. Her project titled ``Nematode Faunal Diversity of Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan,'' was funded by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. The paper has been sent for publication in the scientific journal, Nematologia Mediterranea, published from Italy. It is presented jointly by Dr.Tahseen and Ather Hussain, also of AMU.

``The study reveals the rich nematode diversity in the park, with plant parasitic [herbivores], predatory [carnivores] and free living [detritivores] species of nematodes," Dr. Tahseen said. "The importance of nematodes is manifold," according to her. "Nematodes are the most significant group of consumers or, more specifically, de-composers. The ones that are plant parasites function as a limiting factor in crop production, while the predatory nematodes act as bio-control agents. The free-living ones are bio-indicators."

Dr. Tahseen said: ``Because of their ubiquity and diversity, nematodes are used as indicators of environmental quality, in measuring the impact of various perturbations on the eco system, such as pollution, organic enrichment and physical disturbance.''

While the estimated number of nematode varieties is over five lakhs, only 26,000 species have been identified. So far less than 13,000 of them have been traced in India. Nematodes may be numerous but the continued over-exploitation of land and forests is threatening their survival. Even before humanity discovers them all, most of them would be gone.

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