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Polychaetes as Ecosystem Engineers: Agents of Sustainable Technologies

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Book cover Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies for Building and Environmental Applications

Abstract

Polychaetes are the so-called ecosystem engineers as they are constantly feeding, digging, burrowing, irrigating, reworking and ingesting particles in the sediment and near to the sediment–water interface. Their behaviour through bioturbation has significant impact on sediment biogeochemistry, in processing highly enriched sediments, and provides tolerance towards hypoxia and highly polluted areas. In this paper, the review introduced briefly about the distribution of polychaetes in the world, explained its role in tackling environmental issues such as detoxifying inorganic contaminants into less toxic compounds, processing organically enriched sediments via their digestive system and overcoming hypoxia and anoxia cases plus sulphidic conditions. All these criteria enable polychaetes to be agents of sustainable technology. Then, the focus is emphasized on the lack of studies about polychaetes in Malaysia. Increasing number of studies is currently in place to document their distribution in Malaysia. Research that addresses how polychaete processes their waste and how their body adapts to various environmental degradation would be vital as key towards sustainability in environmental applications.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Associate Prof. Dr. Mahamad Hakimi Ibrahim for introducing us to the world of polychaetes and to Nurul Syuhada Baharuddin for sharing her knowledge about polychaete-assisted sand filter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, George Town, Penang, Malaysia

    Widad Fadhullah & Muhammad Izzuddin Syakir

Authors
  1. Widad Fadhullah
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  2. Muhammad Izzuddin Syakir
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Correspondence to Widad Fadhullah .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

    Mardiana Idayu Ahmad

  2. Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

    Mazran Ismail

  3. Institute of Building Technology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Saffa Riffat

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Fadhullah, W., Syakir, M.I. (2016). Polychaetes as Ecosystem Engineers: Agents of Sustainable Technologies. In: Ahmad, M., Ismail, M., Riffat, S. (eds) Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies for Building and Environmental Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31840-0_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31840-0_8

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31840-0

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