Ocaña Martín, Professor of the Dpt. of Animal Biology and Ecology of the University of Granada, is the only reseacher working nowadays in Spain on nematodes – worm-shaped microscopic animals that live in water environments – and she is also one of the five or six world specialists dedicated to the study of fresh water nematodes.
Although nematodes have always aroused great scientific interest, they have been only partly studied since this study has focused on groups of zooparasites and phytoparasites against free-living nematodes. Professor Ocaña started to study fresh water nematodes when nobody in Spain worked on that field. The start of her work coincided with the retirement of Professor Gadea, from the University of Barcelona, who had dedicated his last research stage to release in Spain part of the free-living nematofauna, incluiding fresh water nematofauna.
The first results of the reserach of Professor Ocaña are included in her doctoral thesis: “Nematodes of mineral/medicinal springs of the province of Granada”. In her opinion, the main interest of the thesis was in opening a field practically nobody had worked on. “Nematodes were completely unknown; there were neither studies nor specialists in the field. There is not even a Spanish Society of Nematology” although there is, of course, a Society of Phytopathology, the researcher comments on, after underlining that the main thing is “the effort you have to make to open a new field”.
Researcher from Granada analysed 38 different springs in her doctoral thesis and connected the physical-chemical composition of water with the species of nematodes linked with the sediment of these springs washed by such waters, a work that has also been useful for obtaining ecological conclusions. “Nematodes can be used as bioindicators of the physical-chemical characteristics of waters and can become useful pollution indicators”, researcher says.
Subsequent to this work, biologist has supervised two doctoral thesis related to the subject: the first was about nematodes of the pools of Sierra Nevada –the presentation of the results is planned for the next year- and the other was about the use of nematodes as pollution indicators in the rivers of Granada.
She is also working at the moment in collaboartion with other specialists on an international basis to publish a book about fresh water nematodes; she will deal with inhabitants of extreme environments.
What are nematodes?
Nematodes are relatively primitive worm-shaped microscopic animals that are part of a big large called ‘pseudocelomates’. Which is curious about them is that they can inhabit any environment, even the most extreme. “Nematodes have been found in salt flats, dunes, land environments and, of course, in sea sediment…”, Professor of Animal Biology points out about this zoological taxon after reminding that fresh water nematodes and marine zoology are her two main research lines.
Free-living nematodes are usually between 0.2 and 8.0 mm long. Their body is thread-like, with a slightly rounded front part and a thread-like or rounded back. Nematodes have a transparent body and move in a “sneaky” way, shifting among sediment particles.
Thay are closely connected to benthos sediment of any water environment (rivers, lakes, springs, dams, ponds, etc.), as well as algae or roots masses of certain aquatic plants. Among these fresh water inhabitants appear some amphibious species which can inhabit both continental water environments and land ones, and other species typical of fresh water environments.
Fresh water nematodes usually inhabit the superficial stratum of the sediment, especially in those rich in organic material.
Further information: Professor Amelia Ocaña Martín.
Department of Animal Biology and Ecology of the Faculty of Sciences of Granada.
Phone number: 958-243239
E-mail:amelia@ugr.es
