We Have No Clue Why These Worms Like To Dance

Do you know what’s in your water? Do you know what’s buried deep in those depths?
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SOURCES:
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pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12590...
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This video has been dubbed using an artificial voice via aloud.area120.google.com to increase accessibility. You can change the audio track language in the Settings menu.

[@SOOKIE42069]

ask james to put a nontoxic dye in the water to see if the dancing produces any vortices that would drag food toward them. that’s my guess

[@SpydrXIII]

very good guess.

[@kats9755]

"A hallucination.. of the Rockettes performing choreography inspired by an Edvard Munch painting." I am CRYING 😂😂😂

[@dragonwithamonocle]

YES! In the aquarium and sealed terrarium hobby, these are lovingly and humorously referred to as "boogie worms" and are somewhat of a meme. I love these little dudes.

[@sniall]

Boogieworms! I've got a few Jar ecospheres that have these worms in them. I always assumed the dancing was to move more water over their body and absorb more oxygen.

[@Jonny11299]

One time I dropped some vegetables and a fungus in their cage and they started moving around super intentionally, not their usual sine wave dance. They looked like they were catching falling sediment or dodging something. Then they died cuz I found out oyster mushrooms secrete neurotoxins to paralyze and eat worms DANG lolll. (oyster mushrooms target nematodes specifically, and these guys might be too big, but either way, they died shortly after Oyster + Corn + Carrot were introduced, as well as most of the ecosystem)

[@aplaceinthestars3207]

The intro description of having worms crawling about made me feel so icky, but like... I do vermicomposting and praise my little worm-friends for their efforts. Such a difference a dramatic narrative makes!

[@galacticmechanic1]

If a bunch of dna in one worm is damaged and a different bit of dna in another worms is damaged, then combining dna gives the next gen a better chance at having a full undamaged genome,

[@LimeyLassen]

Or heterozygosity, at least!

[@RailfoxStudios]

"We don't know why these worms like to dance." Because they don't have to pay taxes, next question.

[@davidg5898]

I suspect the dancing intensity based on depth is likely a multipurpose behavior, not exclusively solving a single issue. If they absorb oxygen through their skin, then the higher oxygen concentration near the surface will require less motion to breathe. Their primary food may be found closer to the bottom, so wiggling more down there is better for feeding. Things wiggling at shallower depths are easier to see. Less motion near the water's surface is safer behavior, especially since it would take longer for tubifex to retract quickly from danger. There are more boogieworms to compete with near the bottom, so maybe be less dancing is required to get the same amount of resources when stretched above the masses.

[@MamitaClaud]

We've only studied planaria for aquatic worms and we got samples in a pond teeming with life. My guess from your sample, plants on top with no groundwater nor streamflow - I think the dancing is a way to "aerate" the water so oxygen molecules will reach the sediment level. If there were fish, plant life and waterflow in the ground level then maybe they do not need to "dance". I suggest you replicate the experiment with a different ecosystem introducing two or all of these variables. Very intersting brain exercise. I hope I got the question right.

[@deathcap56]

I agree. I work with leeches which though a different annelid entirely, are a good indicator. They “dance” to increase the flow of water over their bodies to help the oxygen intake. I’ve also seen other animals which rely on oxygen water levels do similar. On top of this, when oxygen in the water is low, my leeches climb the side of the enclosure to get actual air from above the water, and cease dancing. This behavior mimics these worms raising towards the waters surface. I however am just spitballing, and can’t be sure as they are different animals entirely

[@JeffreydeKogel]

One of my favorite channels, Life In Jars?, has given them the nickname "boogieworms", which is always the first thing that comes to my mind when thinking of these little worms.

[@Lichen8404]

Ikr?? I saw them and immediately shouted "BOOGIEWORMS"

[@NathanaelNewton]

OMG I Love this subject! never heard of this channel, Thanks for sharing!!

[@Gutterrat69]

I was thinking the same thing!!!!!

[@Taqterra]

Yes I assumed they were tubifex, also I thought he called them "boobyworms" lmao

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

That is an AWESOME name!

[@mattparker7932]

Could it be that they dance to get oxygen? And as the oxygen is depleted they reveal more of their bodies to increase surface area for oxygen to be absorbed?

[@stevecollins9450]

That's always been my thought too.

[@luisaparodi8571]

That's just what I thought

[@tonolinus]

Ye, i had the same idea. just because there is plenty of oxygen in the water, does not mean that each worm would get enough of it, if the live in dense colonies without the water moving much around them.

[@Moishe555]

thats a good thought! better than mine, I thought it was them trying to kick up critters on the bottom and whe thereis less O they have to look elsewhere because there is less critters lol

[@jennifersaar1611]

Yep, that's what I thought as well. I wonder if the dancing helps to pump oxygen throughout the organism, and as oxygen becomes scarce, it switches methods and behavior.

[@cheesehead_man1375]

I'm no biologist, but I would think that they "dance" to keep the water around them from getting stagnant, and to ensure a constant flow of food and minerals around them. The emergence at low O2 concentrations is likely to increase surface area for exchange, to increase the chances of O2 reaching them, though I don't know if they have the capability to do that though their skin.

[@R-MD]

I think their dancing being related to the oxygen means it's... related to oxygen. Perhaps the dancing pushes oxygenated water down, to save for later? Or what if they need to shed excess oxygen when there's too much by dancing to use it up?

[@peopleeps4756]

Maybe it could also be related to oxygen in that after a certain level maybe they start reproduction or some other biological trigger? Kinda like how some organisms hibernate when a certain temperature is reached?

[@StayPrimal]

Wow the little dance was amazing :) They got lots of energy these little fellas

[@ohnothepossum]

I keep leeches as pets as a hobby, they are a kind of worm that dances too! Their dancing because it moves the water around them which helps them get oxygen. Basically it's their way to breathe. Maybe it's the same for these worms.

[@trevinbeattie4888]

Would be interesting to see a follow-up of the worms that survive several generations later to see if any genetic mutations have made them more resistant to radiation damage.

[@lauram9478]

❤ thanks Hank! I hear Jeff Goldbloom ...."life finds a way..."

[@sciencenerd7639]

Worm vids from both Dave and Hank in one day. So awesome. Thank you!

[@AbqDez]

ANTMAN & WASP. Best use of Tardigrade in a film. Runner-up include Star Trek Discovery. (Not just the show, but also the short_ which gets much wrong, but is totally adorable.)

[@Emcron]

...yup, never dipping my hand overboard while a boat is moving ever again.

[@addisondragon7899]

these dudes r cool thank u for sharing

[@Jazoo009]

Could the dancing be integral for keeping the worm submerged and in the sediment? As in, it doesn't need to dance closer to the surface because it doesn't need to counter its' buyoancy?

[@Yezpahr]

4:37 I think they just try to make a vortex to make the oxygenated water swirl down with giving up as little protection as possible. Some outliers may be a bit more desperate or rely on others to do the bigger part of the work.

[@AbqDez]

Will you make a follow up video about this PLEASE??? I WANT TO KNOW MORE !!!

[@phillipcharlesashwood1850]

When Oxygen level is high they live in the mud and hidden, as the oxygen level drops they rise to dance half exposed from the soil.., when nitrites are high then the worms climb up the plants and form themselves into balls of worms near the surface.

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

Lovely and intriguing episode

[@samuelpaulini]

Could you do an episode about detritus worms and aquarium ecosystems in general? 😃

[@firebert123]

I thought the worms in the thumbnail were an artists drawing/painting of them! Beautiful colours!

[@garygenerous8982]

My guess is that the worms dance to move the water around their bodies allowing for more efficient gas exchange through the skin.

[@PrimordialBias]

The big microscope edits from 'Hulk' were always fun

[@bavettesAstartes]

Sexual reproduction as a way to fight harmful mutation is such an interesting concept. I think this could be grade A scifi horror.

[@ArtisticNightmares]

Maybe they just like to jig 😂 and I love it

[@osmia]

Thank you to all those who are able to be patreons for sponsoring this video :D

[@brendakrieger7000]

Thanks!

[@phillipmaciejewski9872]

Doesn't dissolved oxygen in water usually follow a gradient down the water column? If the behavior changes in response to decreasing levels of oxygen, I would think ultimately it has something to do with that. Perhaps the dancing is an attempt to create localized disturbance/movement in the water column and thus homogenize the dissolved oxygen a bit more across the water column? Homogenization of dissolved oxygen concentrations could also serve a purpose in reducing zones of anaerobic activity, which would also explain why they simply move up in the water column as dissolved oxygen decreases- they want to stay out of regions of anaerobic activity because that is often where harmful bacteria grow, and as dissolved oxygen continues to decrease, the effect the dancing motion has is reduced and ultimately nullified, necessitating complete migration from the anox regions. It could also play a secondary purpose in filter feeding by moving the water.

[@Intelligenthumour]

The dancing almost certainly is about upping water circulation and thus causing oxygen rich water to mix with oxygen depleted water(and thus averaging the two). Once they're at the water's surface though then there is no more need to try and mix water as the oxygenation of the water is happening right there at the surface. Surface agitation could help oxygenate the water as a whole but as animals diffuse oxygen and such through mucus/wet membranes that are typically vascularized then having them resting at the water's surface means that oxygen directly from the air can transpire into them and carbon dioxide and such can transpire out with ease. Similarly a lot of water plants prefer to be at the water's surface(arguably the most successful water plant being lesser duckweed which grows on the surface) and plants growing underwater(as you can grow many kinds of land plants fully submerged if you "train" them to do so) tend to grow faster if they've got bits near or on the water's surface.

[@Blackmark52]

[1:40] "can tell us more about those waters than you might even want to know." yeah, thinking that already.

[@NoBody-wu7tf]

As always excellent, fascinating and chill so thanks to all involved. If I had more cash I'd definitely throw some your way. In lieu of that, some movie suggestions for your reaction videos- evolution (2001) and life (2017). The latter may provide the better reaction though it may be a little much for some in the audience

[@smivan.]

This is a very Nais episode.

[@armandinalecz651]

the sound track goes hard af in this episode‼️

[@MontgomeryWenis]

My thought was aeration. Swimming around like that to move the stagnant water so they can maximize the oxygen they get out of it?

[@benroberts3677]

Hello im back, its been a while. I have a kid now, 2 weeks old

[@Anuchan]

Congratulations! A new child is a good reason to celebrate. Even though we've never met.

[@somedude6161]

For movie scenes, you will have to include the one from Blade where the microscope slide blows up

[@user-zb9jn8fl7v]

Holy shit! I always thought the narrator's voice was familiar, but I just now realized it's Hank Green

[@caspenbee]

"do you know what is on your water?" said with the same tone as "parents. Do you know where your children are?"

[@Jonny11299]

Yoooooo I saw these guys in some pondwater I kept recently!! They were dancing beneath the duckweed with a bunch of water fleas and little shrimp guys. And then I dropped a bit of corn, oyster mushroom, and carrot (not very scientific to do three things at once, I know), and their dance changed drastically. Before the sediment, they were making these rhythmic sine wave patterns. After I dropped stuff in, they started moving around very intentionally, almost like they were catching falling particles out of the water, or maybe trying to dodge them. Then they started to slow down and eventually the new items introduced into their ecosystem killed them. I found out later that oyster mushrooms contain a neurotoxin that kills nemotades LOL and they do this to slurp up their bodies with mycelium and get more nutrients!! Crazy adaptation. My pondwater jar looks like, nearly dead now though. 90% of species dead. Shrimp guys, worms, and slugs alike. It's like the end of the Cambrian period in there. Sad stuff. Cool experiment though.

[@NewMessage]

Sometimes, you just gotta dance. For me, it is while washing dishes with my earbuds in. I say let them get their groove on!

[@animab4737]

What kind of filters does james use? I would be happy to know the specific ones. Your videos are my favourites and I want to try making my own ones

[@user-mc5oh2pl7t]

I think they move that much in order to make their body in constant contact with fresh and oxygen saturated water.

[@brianedwards7142]

Hattifatteners (Swedish: hattifnattar - with the first element compare hatta, "dither"; the second element is related to fnatta (omkring), "flutter around"; få fnatt, "go crazy or get excited over something"; poss. fnatt, "squirrel") - small white ghost-like creatures that resemble worn socks. Hattifatteners are always on the move and travel the sea in large groups (but always in odd numbers), such as boat convoys. They meet every year on a lonely island.[2] Their only goal in life is to reach the horizon. They may communicate using telepathy. The Hattifatteners cannot see very well, but their sense of touch is very strong, and they can feel ground vibrations and electricity. Hattifatteners assemble once a year when they "recharge" in a thunderstorm, when they can cause electrical burns. Hattifatteners grow from seeds, but only if this seed is sown on Midsummer Eve. Wikipedia

[@edweinb]

Wonder what the function of the chaetae would be. They looked more elaborate than I expected.

[@katiusciapigini5519]

wow very good video

[@edweinb]

Apparently they are in the same phylum as the earthworm. Looks like they are mostly Gi tract.

[@willemvandebeek]

The subtitles/closed captions are wrong! :( I think they are for a different episode about frontonia/homalozoon or something...?

[@journeytomicro]

So sorry about this. The incorrect caption file was uploaded by accident, and it has now been fixed.

[@willemvandebeek]

@@journeytomicro no worries, I am now very curious about the upcoming frontonia/homalozoon episode! :)

[@CuzicanAerospace]

Please fix the subtitles. When they're out of sync, like in this episode, it makes it hard to follow along. Thanks!

[@journeytomicro]

So sorry about this. The incorrect caption file was uploaded by accident, and it has now been fixed.

[@PhilBoswell]

Wondering whether the subtitles are time-shifted or transplanted from another episode…I think the latter since those words have not yet appeared in this episode.

[@journeytomicro]

So sorry about this. The incorrect caption file was uploaded by accident, and it has now been fixed.

[@friendoftheoyster3906]

Wait... Ive been watching you guys for two years and i just now figure out that Hank Green is the voiceover???

[@kamath234]

I think the 'dancing' is how they breath. Just a wild guess. When O2 levels are low, they come to surface, do not have enough energy to dance i.e., they are dying

[@parrot998]

Or they simply don't need to dance on the surface because there is way higher oxygen levels. Remember that small invertibrates generally breathe through their skin. Dancing may be a way to collect more oxygen without a larger surface area

[@kamath234]

@@parrot998 Yes, that could be true

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

My favorite part of Hank doing the voice-over is that you cant see his mustache.

[@hherpdderp]

Maybe its like the way some sharks have to keep moving to push oxygen into their gills?

[@TheHiderOfKeys]

Well that was horrifying

[@firstnamelastname8058]

Well.. my desire to swim in wild water has suddenly and permanently vanished.

[@playinglifeoneasy9226]

The dancing or twitching is the result of muscles, contracting muscle contractions will increase the amount of oxygen absorber to buy their skin or spiracles, and will help them shuttle oxygen around if they’re in an environment where it is not evenly distributed

[@SirWilliamKidney]

Is it just me or has JttM been doing its level best to gross us out recently?? 😝

[@wezul]

For your consideration, the microscopy scenes in Evolution! :)

[@bmg50barrett74]

Perhaps the dance is an evolutionary behavior that agitates overly oxygenated water? Perhaps the Nais's food source thrives in lower oxygen water? By agitating high oxygen content water on the pondbed, they can lower the oxygen content, allowing their food source to thrive?

[@Sybil_Detard]

I believe this video has the incorrect closed captioning attached.

[@journeytomicro]

So sorry about this. The incorrect caption file was uploaded by accident, and it has now been fixed.

[@fantasticalfascination]

The subtitles seem to be quite off on this video...

[@journeytomicro]

So sorry about this. The incorrect caption file was uploaded by accident, and it has now been fixed.

[@katherinel8661]

Boogie worms gonna boogie.

[@danielteo4974]

heh. nice kitty. 2:36

[@notLacrimariaOlor]

*I had no idea things can get this big*

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

Is there somewhere I can buy a music album for this show?

[@journeytomicro]

Yes! Microcosmos.store

[@smivan.]

Highly recommended, the soundtrack albums are a delight to listen to.

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

@@journeytomicro Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[@ListenToMcMuck]

My guesses are: They are substrate eaters. They also need oxygen. Because the substrate is at the bottom and the oxygen is at the top, they have to do a lot of transport in two different directions, which is difficult to do with peristalsis alone. In addition, their dance increases oxygen levels further down, which benefits them by allowing them to breathe more easily throughout the length of their bodies and also benefits the microorganisms in the substrate they feed on. The dancing may also help them to get rid of their excretions. Since they usually reproduce asexually, competition with their neighbours would harm themselves. Therefore, they tend to dig deeper into the substrate rather than grasing on top of it.

[@SpydrXIII]

that was it? this needed way more information.

[@christianhunt7382]

I wonder how gentically different Nais are to khuli loaches..

[@eggsbox]

someone should check in on that lake.

[@lukeknights5062]

If you could do the 1982 movie The Thing with the Vector cell absorbing the dog cell that would be awesome

[@sveinnordgren6376]

Edward Munch, yeah!😊

[@alexanderc.firgensitswer5927]

Balls got worms

[@MrPooPooJohn]

Maybe oxygen is like an energy drink and radiation is an aphrodisiac to them?

[@xenoxaos1]

Safety dance?

[@GeraldBlack1]

Boogie worms 🎶

[@michealwestfall8544]

Couldn't the dancing help with digestion? The dancing contractions are keeping the food moving through the gut. Or it could be camouflage, maybe fish don't think they're food when they're dancing.

[@thangchinsiamguite4725]

I suggest that the dancing worms "dance" to scour the area for oxygen and away from CO2. It may be wrong, it's just my guess.

[@kellydalstok8900]

🎶. Picture yourself in a boat on a river 🎶

[@meganfitzmaurice5757]

I have an idea! Not sure if it qualifies though - the House Opening or zoom in through his ear to his head. Like Jimmy Neutron

[@meganfitzmaurice5757]

Maybe the worms "dance" because they don't like oxygen so are searching for what they like in the water

[@aldrinmilespartosa1578]

Yes, lead.

[@silentracer911]

They dance because they are happy… clearly

[@Anuchan]

You'll know why they dance when you find the drummer.

[@luckycoulon1417]

What if the worms dance when closer to the bottom to agitate the water and allow them to absorb more dissolved oxygen from the surrounding water. As oxygen levels drop perhaps they rise to remain closer to the surface in order to continue getting enough oxygen.

[@robyn6521]

Boogie worms!

[@MicroSaner]

I hope one day I achieve the quality of your videos , truly inspiring and excelent video as always! ❤

[@praveenb9048]

Danse Mudcabre

[@sciencoking]

The line at 3:34 sounds straight out of a zefrank1 video

[@TheOneTrueGesta]

It's a worm rave!

[@AbqDez]

Dance = Communication ??

[@pattheplanter]

At least it wasn't shrieking eels.

[@jenn011754]

Are you aware that your speaking and the closed captioning are 100% different and make watching and understanding the video quite maddening?

[@mandark88]

I think they uploaded another file, or it’s badly synced… I’m sure they’ll fix it soon enough 🙌🏻

[@Zaihanisme]

@@clusterferyou realise that their grammar is perfectly fine, right? Do you even understand their comment? If you want to be that pedantic at least be right lol

[@c.Orange]

​​​​​​@@SFELNMODexactly, this is a problem for specific people. Specific people that lack innate skill in english language and needs captions to pace along with the video better, and deaf people. These are why the captions exist. But hey this is just their problem, who cares... You care enough to shit on it and leave this shoit stain of a commment that is based soley upon ignorance and/ or asshattery while it affects you none what so ever if the captions are correct or not. Grow up.

[@Albinojackrussel]

​@@SFELNMODthis is sort of like asking someone why they're in a wheelchair if they can walk (like most wheelchair users can). Being hard of hearing, or partially deaf, or having sensory processing disorders are actually more common than being profoundly deaf, and captions help all those groups. Also just in general if you see an accessibility issue it's good to raise it. Even if it's not a "you problem" it *is* a problem for literally all the disabled people who rely on that bit of accessibility.

[@AbqDez]

I appriciate someone letting them know to fix it. Captions Matter!!

[@degariuslozak2169]

My farts smell like dog chunks!