Ecology

Upto date, very little is known about the ecology of the free-living marine flatworms. Unfortunately, there is insufficient information when it comes to their genetic diversity, diet and habitat preferences, demography and environmental tolerances. Apparently, the ecological niches of turbellarians depend on sediment type, temperature, salinity, oxygen content and pollution. We don’t know the polyclads’ actual contribution to food webs, but it is assumed that their main role is predation of meiofauna (Boaden, 1995). P.prudhoei are usually found on rocky or reef habitats, swimming in open waters or under coral rubble plates, where they find their preys, the ascidians (Fig.3)