Tag Archives: Marphysa

Most people would not expect a scientific breakthrough to emerge from pond mud. But in 2017, a routine culture experiment at SEAFDEC/AQD in Iloilo took an unexpected turn. Then researcher Dr. Mary Anne Mandario stocked culture tanks with jelly cocoons, the egg capsules of mudworms, and expected little more than another round of observations. Instead, the worms multiplied far beyond what Dr. Mandario (now a scientist as of this writing) expected. The dramatic increase caught her attention. More intriguing, however, was the appearance of two distinct polychaete species. One appeared familiar. The other did not resemble any species she could identify. Rather than dismissing the anomaly, Dr. Mandario pursued it. Specimens were sent to Dr. Christopher Glasby, a polychaete taxonomist …

In a bid to produce more of this aquaculture superfood and as efficiently as possible, Mandario recently established the optimal light conditions for the polychaete hatchery where the mudworm eggs are hatched, and larvae are nursed. The finding is important because the 10,000 species of polychaetes have varying responses to light at their different life stages.