as bait may have negative ecological impacts on intertidal habitats and on worm population numbers. In 2019, Cabral et al. found that Marphysa sanguinea are placed at risk by overfishing and unlicensed harvesting in Portugal. The ecological impacts of bait harvesting activity can also effect associated fauna populations as well as sediment quality and bioavailability of heavy metals. Research indicates that mudworm survival and growth may also be effected by changes in salinity rates. Ecological impact Importing Eunicidae species is an established alternative to exploiting local populations for bait. This process may lead to accidental species introductions or invasions. Alien species can threaten the foundation of local ecosystems by altering food webs, habitat structures and gene pools. Alien species can also introduce diseases and parasites. Six species of Eunice, one species of Euniphysa, three species of Lysidice and one species of Marphysa sp. were identified as alien in local aquatic ecosystems across the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the USA Pacific and the North Sea. Live bait worms are often emptied into the water body by anglers at the end of a fishing session, this is another practice that can introduce alien species to aquatic ecosystems. Life cycle Sexual reproduction Most of the class Polychaeta are benthic sexual reproductive animals and lack external reproductive organs. When mating, female polychaetes produce a pheromone that induces a mutual release of male sperm and female eggs. This process of synchronous reproduction in the form of a swarm is known as epitoky. During this process, there is no actual male to female contact. The reproductive swarm is ejected into open water. Cells that fuse during fertilisation (gametes) are spawned through an excretory gland (metanephridia) or by the main worm body-wall rupturing. Post-fertilisation, most eggs become planktonic; although some remain inside the worm tubes or burrow in external jelly masses attached to the tubes. Epitokes can draw an increased number of pelagic predators. In the Florida Keys for example, the swarming of Eunice fucata is a highly publicised in local fishing communities, attracting a large gathering of tarpon. These mass swarming events, or ‘risings’, are a spectacle that is the foundation of local tradition in Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Indonesia. Human relations As bait in commercial and recreational fishing Marphysa sanguinea, or known locally in Italy as “Murrido”, “Murone”, “Bacone” and “Verme sanguigno” is the most valuable bait of all Polychaete