Ecological niche
Nematodes are primary producers and play an important role in the breakdown of organic matter in their ecosystem.
- Nematodes are crucial to our environment, especially to the energy and matter cycle in the biosphere.
- Nematodes are free-living consumers, specially decomposers, who are responsible for recycling decaying, rotting, organic matter, which is present in almost all ecosystems.
- Nematodes large population and diversity around the globe, makes them the primary decomposers in most environments.
- Nematodes feeding, digestion, and excretion enable nutrients and minerals which are essential to plants, to be recycled from decaying organic matter, bacteria, and fungi, so they are accessible to plants.
- Without nematodes, plants and animals would not be able to get the energy they need from the soil, indirectly affecting all species on earth.
Left: Root knot overtaken with parasitic nematodes.
- Although all species of nematodes are beneficial to the environment because of their ability to decompose, parasitic nematodes can cause lots of damage to plants and humans.
- When a bunch of parasitic nematodes live within the roots of agriculture, they can infest the crops, causing great devastation to the venation growing in the land.
- Pest control is used by farmers to help control nematode populations, which could poison their crop and cause disease to humans.
- Even though parasitic nematodes still break down organic matter, their infestation could also ruin and devastate the land they infest on.