Collecting polychaetes in the Western Cape of South AfricaCredit: Carol Simon

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I go worm hunting in estuaries and the intertidal section of a beach on to which waves crash, depending on the tides. My work takes me to places such as the picturesque Knysna Lagoon along South Africa’s Garden Route coastline, and to the Berg River estuary on the West Coast, a haven for migratory waterbirds whose diet includes polychaetes.

Fishers use some polychaete species as bait. They call them bloodworms, moonshine worms or mussel worms. Some invasive species have become pests, infecting abalone or cultured oyster farms.

Credit: Carol Simon

My goal is to identify and understand the diversity and spread of South African species better, and to learn more about how they reproduce, disperse, and whether they could be overexploited.

On a worm hunt, simple tools like paint scrapers, PVC pipes and a set of stainless steel sieves are my trusty tools. With the scraper I scratch algae off rocks to see whether it contains worms. With the plastic pipe I dig out a column of wet sand and scoop it into the sieves, always hoping to find specimens to investigate further in my lab.

It is both peaceful and thrilling to scrutinise my finds. Some are so tiny that you can only see them clearly under a microscope. Others are an arm’s length long and as thick as my thumb. Taxonomy is very much like doing forensic investigations. It’s about detail. I often use staining agents such as methyl green to help me distinguish between species, as well as genetic tests.

I have studied polychaetes since my PhD years at Rhodes University, South Africa in the early 2000s. I was supposed to study aspects of abalone farming, but soon found the indigenous or invasive worms that sometimes live on abalone far more interesting. Now I am an associate professor in zoology at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and the past president of the International Polychaete Association.

I described my first new species in 2009, and have since helped with 21 species new to science, of which 18 are indigenous to South Africa. Along with colleagues and students I am also clearing up inconsistencies in the many common names that people use, often for the same species.