Nicolas BEKKOUCHE

How does the Osedax worm (Annelida) interact with its environment? Integrative biology of a worm feeding on bones.

As I recently joined the AMEX team in 2023, my scientific project focuses on the morphology, systematics, ecology and physiology of the Osedax worm (Annelida, Siboglinidae). These worms, discovered in 2004, feed on vertebrate’s bones, and their biology is still poorly known. This project research will be implemented by leaving bones in deep environments during different oceanographic cruises, in order to trigger the settlement of the worms, and thanks to the expertise of the AMEX team, the worms will be studied with several methods (confocal microscopy, electron microscopy, in-situ hybridization etc.), to better understand how Osedax interacts with its environment.

 Furthermore, my expertise is also about the morphology and phylogeny of meiofauna (microscopic animals) mostly gastrotrichs, gnathostomulids and Micrognathozoa, as well as other understudied animal taxa. The opportunity to have access to deep sea environments with the AMEX team will be an amazing opportunity to continue to explore the unknown territories of the metazoan diversity.