Are marine worms important to the Earth and environment?

All life forms on earth are important and have a part to play in the ecosystem that is the earth.  However, marine worms play a vital role, more vital than one might suppose.  Some species of marine worms have been in existence for around 500 million years.  This means that they have a long history and form a very crucial part of the food chain.  In addition to this, it is believed that marine worms play an important role in reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that goes into the atmosphere by making it bio-available to marine plant plankton near the surface.  This is important in keeping our ozone layer intact.