1. NEMATODES Andrea McQuillan, Carlee MacNeill, Hannah Gillam & Luke Coxhead

2.  Invertebrates  Very diverse  Parasitic or free living  20 000 classified species  More known parasitic species INTRODUCTION

3.  Kingdom: Anamalia  Phylum: Nematoda  Class:  Adenophorea  Secernentea CLASSIFICATION

4.  Little research of evolution  Fossils dating back to 500 million years ago  Related to arthropods and priapulids  Evolved from unicellular organisms with no symmetry to radially symmetric organisms and then to bilaterally symmetric organisms  They have hardly evolved over the past few millions of years EVOLUTION

5.  Size: Most are less than 1 mm to 5 cm in length  Can measure over 1 meter  Cylindrical, bilateral symmetry, unsegmented  Epidermis  Tough but flexible cuticle CHARACTERISTICS

6.  Longitudinal muscles  Primitive body cavity  Simple nervous system CHARACTERISTICS

7.  Variety of patterns that can all be related to one pattern.  2 phases: parasitic and pre-parasitic  Reproduction  In most species it takes place in the host  Majority reach adulthood and start mating in 2-3 months  Can live up to two years LIFE CYCLE

8.  Stomodeum  Intestine  Excretory System  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI33nRmK 70s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI33nRmK 70s DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

9.  Most significant source of consumers  Can lay up to 200 000 eggs a day  In a handful of dirt you can find thousands of nematodes  Parasitic Nematodes can cause a variety of diseases INTERESTING FACTS!

10.  "Nematode Genome Evolution*." Nematode Genome Evolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014..   "Nematodes." Nematodes. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014..   "Introduction to the Nematoda." Introduction to the Nematoda. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014..   "Placentonema Gigantissimum." Placentonema Gigantissimum. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014..   "Evolution of Nematode Development." Evolution of Nematode Development. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014..   "The Evolutionary History of Nematodes." Brill. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014..   "NEMATODE." NEMATODE. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.   "The Phylum Nematoda." The Nematodes (Phylum Nematoda). N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014..   "NEMATODE." NEMATODE. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.   "Nematode Fossils Nematoda." Nematode Fossils Nematoda. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.. SOURCES