Controlled Cultivation of Endogeic and Anecic Earthworms

Butt, Kevin R.; Lowe, Christopher Nathan

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14636-7_7

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…For each soil, 300 g of air-dried soil was wetted with deionized water up to a gravimetric water content of 30% to sustain earthworm activity (Berry and Jordan 2001;Butt and Lowe 2011;Lowe and Butt 2005). The moist soil was put in sealed laboratory bags punctured with pin holes, to prevent earthworms from escaping but to allow the exchange of air.…”

Section: Soils and Earthworm Selection And Mesocosm Establishmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of different earthworm ecotypes on water stable aggregates and soil water holding capacity

Hallam

Hodson

2020

Biol Fertil Soils

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We carried out mesocosm experiments using either the anecic earthworm Lumbricus terrestris or the endogeic earthworm Allolobophora chlorotica and loam, silt loam and sandy loam soils to investigate the differing impact of these earthworm of different ecotypes on aggregate formation (percentage water stable aggregates, %WSA) and soil water holding capacity (WHC), two soil properties that underpin many of the ecosystem services provided by soils. Earthworms significantly increased %WSA (by 16-56% and 19-63% relative to earthworm-free controls for L. terrestris and A. chlorotica, respectively). For L. terrestris, this increase was significantly greater in the upper 6.5 cm of the soil where their casts were more obviously present. Allobophora chlorotica treatments significantly increased WHC by 7-16%. L. terrestris only caused a significant increase in WHC (of 11%) in the upper 6.5 cm of the sandy loam soil. Linear regression indicated a consistent relationship between increases in %WSA and WHC for both earthworm species. However, for a given %WSA, WHC was higher for A. chlorotica than L. terrestris likely due to the known differences in their burrow structure. Overall, earthworms increased soil %WSA and WHC but the significant species/ecotype differences need to be considered in discussions of the beneficial impacts of earthworms to soil properties.

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Section: Soils and Earthworm Selection And Mesocosm Establishmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of different earthworm ecotypes on water stable aggregates and soil water holding capacity

Hallam

Hodson

2020

Biol Fertil Soils

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“…In ecological assessment of soil, earthworms are considered sentinel organisms (Butt and Lowe, 2010). A recent review of the ecotoxicological effects of nanomaterials on earthworms by Kwak and An (2015) showed, from 2008 to 2015, that thirty-six nano-toxicological studies utilising earthworms were reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of silver nanoparticles on survival, biomass change and avoidance behaviour of the endogeic earthworm Allolobophora chlorotica

Brami

Glover

Butt

et al. 2017

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

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Increasing commercial application of silver nanoparticles (Ag NP) and subsequent presence in wastewater and sewage sludge has raised concerns regarding their effects in the aquatic and terrestrial environment. Several studies have employed standardised acute and chronic earthworm-based tests to establish the toxicological effects of Ag NP within soil. These studies have relied heavily on the use of epigiec earthworm species which may have limited ecological relevance in mineral soil. This study assessed the influence of Ag NP (uncoated 80nm powder) and AgNO on survival, change in biomass and avoidance behaviour in a soil dwelling (endogiec) species, Allolobophora chlorotica. Earthworms were exposed for 14 days to soils spiked with Ag NP or AgNO at 0, 12.5, 25, 50 and 100mgkg either separately for survival and biomass measurement, or combined within a linear gradient to assess avoidance. Avoidance behaviour was shown to provide the most sensitive endpoint with an observable effect at an Ag NP/AgNO concentration of 12.5mgkg compared with 50mgkg for biomass change and 100mgkg for survival. Greater mortality was observed in AgNO (66.7%) compared with Ag NP-spiked soils (12.5%) at 100mgkg, attributed to increased presence of silver ions. Although comparison of results with studies employing Eisenia fetida and Eisenia andrei suggest that the A. chlorotica response to Ag NP is more sensitive, further research employing both epigeic and endogeic earthworms under similar experimental conditions is required to confirm this observation.

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“…Furthermore, earthworm culture can be labor intensive due to the requirement for the separation of all life stages from the culture medium. This has led to the development of semiautomated systems for the large-scale production of litter-dwelling species, and it is considered the Lowe and Butt (2005), Lowe (2011), andDomínguez (2004).…”

Section: Cultivation Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Globally, some 6000 earthworm species have been described, existing under a range of climatic regimes from boreal to tropical biomes (Butt and Lowe, 2011). All earthworms have a similar life cycle.…”

Section: Ecological Groupingsmentioning

confidence: 99%