Effects of Changes in Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide Concentrations on Ventilation Rhythms in Onuphid Polychaetes

Abstract

Spontaneous rhythmic activity in the lugwormArenicola marina(L.) is believed to be under control of a pacemaker located in the ventral nerve cord and oesophageal plexus (Wells, 1937). Since the rhythmic component which often dominates the spontaneous behaviour of polychaete worms consists of movements resulting in irrigation of the tube or burrow, and thus ventilation of respiratory surfaces, pacemaker control of the rhythm differs strikingly from reflex control of ventilation in other animals.