Ecosystem Engineering by Invasive Serpulid Polychaetes

Invasive serpulid polychaetes are sessile annelid worms that secrete external calcareous tubes, often establishing dense aggregations on submerged substrates. Through collective tube construction they form reef-like structures that alter flow dynamics, trap sediment and modify benthic–pelagic interactions. These physical modifications create novel habitats, enhance local biodiversity by providing hard-substrate niches for algae, invertebrates and juvenile fishes, and can accelerate biogeochemical cycling of carbon and calcium. However, they also disrupt native communities by outcompeting indigenous suspension feeders, changing sediment composition and exacerbating biofouling on artificial structures. The balance of these positive and negative impacts varies with environmental context, management practices and the identity of recipient communities. Understanding the traits that enable successful colonisation—such as rapid growth rates, reproductive plasticity and tolerance to environmental stressors—is critical for predicting spread, mitigating ecological damage and harnessing potential ecosystem services. Recent advances have begun to elucidate the complex interplay between serpulid tube morphology, community assembly processes and coastal ecosystem functioning under changing global pressures.

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Ecosystem Engineering by Invasive Serpulid Polychaetes publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in ecosystem engineering by invasive serpulid polychaetes across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Ecosystem engineer: an organism that modifies habitat structure, resource flows or environmental conditions through its physical or biological activities.

Serpulid polychaete: a marine tube-dwelling annelid in the family Serpulidae that secretes calcareous tubes and often forms extensive aggregations.

Biofouling: the accumulation of organisms, including bacteria, algae and invertebrates, on submerged structures, affecting function and ecosystem processes.

Biomineralization: the biologically controlled formation of mineralised structures, such as calcium carbonate tubes produced by serpulid worms.

References

1. Cryptic sympatric species across the Australian range of the global estuarine invader Ficopomatus enigmaticus (Fauvel, 1923) (Serpulidae, Annelida). Aquatic Invasions (2017).
2. The distribution and unexpected genetic diversity of the non-indigenous annelid Ficopomatus enigmaticus in California. Aquatic Invasions (2019).
3. Phylogeny of Serpulidae (Annelida, Polychaeta) Inferred from Morphology and DNA Sequences, with a New Classification. Diversity (2023).