Effects of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc on growth, reproduction and survival of the earthworm Eisenia fetida (Savigny): Assessing the environmental impact of point-source metal contamination in terrestrial ecosystems

Spurgeon, David J.; Hopkin, S. P.; Jones, David T.

doi:10.1016/0269-7491(94)90094-9

Cited by 336 publications

(187 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The 28-day LC50 for total Pb is much lower than the LC50 for soils spiked with solid PbCO 3 and PbS observed by Davies et al (2003a,b). The EC50 for earthworm reproduction in our study is much lower than the EC50s for the soils spiked with solid PbCO 3 and PbS in the study of Davies et al (2003b) and even lower than the EC50 for cocoon production for Pb freshly spiked into artificial soils in the study of Spurgeon et al (1994). The latter studies used insoluble Pb forms which had a much lower availability than the Pb in our soils, explaining for the lower toxicity.…”

Section: Toxicity and Bioaccumulation Of Lead In Earthwormscontrasting

confidence: 62%

“…Compared to LF2.2, high concentrations of Pb (>2000 mg/kg dw) in soils did inhibit earthworm reproduction although it also has to be noted that the most contaminated soils had a low pH-CaCl 2 (3.3e3.5). Spurgeon et al (1994) did observe a significant reduction in the cocoon production of Eisenia fetida at 2000 mg Pb/kg in artificial soils prepared following OECD guideline No. 207 (OECD, 1984).…”

Section: Toxicity and Bioaccumulation Of Lead In Earthwormsmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…They are particularly prone to accumulating metals to much higher levels than in the environment (Morgan et al, 1993) and therefore may play a key role in the food chain transfer of metals from soil to higher organisms. The literature shows a lack of consensus on the toxicity of Pb to earthworms, with enhancement of reproduction at 1000 and 2000 mg Pb/kg (Reinecke and Reinecke, 1996;Reinecke et al, 1997), no observed effects on reproduction at 1810 mg Pb/ kg and a significant reduction in cocoon production at 2000 mg Pb/ kg (Spurgeon et al, 1994). Data on Pb uptake in earthworms show striking differences with Pb body burdens of 75.6 AE 46 mg/kg in Lumbricus castaneus collected from soil containing 412 to 79,963 mg Pb/kg (Terhivuo et al, 1994), and 348 AE 72 mg Pb/kg in L. castaneus exposed to soil containing only 200 mg Pb/kg (Svendsen et al, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Determining the bioavailability and toxicity of lead contamination to earthworms requires using a combination of physicochemical and biological methods

Luo

Verweij

Gestel

2014

Environmental Pollution

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a b s t r a c tThis study aimed at assessing the bioavailability and toxicity of lead to Eisenia andrei in shooting range soils representing different land uses (forest, grassland, bullet plot). Soils contained 47e2398 mg Pb/kg dry weight (dw), but also had different pH-CaCl 2 (3.2e6.8) and organic matter contents (3.8e13%). Therefore artificial soils with different pH and organic matter contents and two natural soils were included as control soils. Earthworms were exposed for 28 days and toxicity and uptake of Pb were related to total, water and 0.01 M CaCl 2 extractable and porewater Pb concentrations as well as to soil characteristics. Pb uptake in the earthworms linearly increased with increasing soil concentrations. At >2000 mg Pb/kg dw and pH 3.3e3.5, high earthworm mortality with significant weight loss and complete inhibition of reproduction were recorded. At <1000 mg/kg dw, earthworm reproduction was more related to differences in pH and other soil characteristics than to Pb.

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Section: Toxicity and Bioaccumulation Of Lead In Earthwormscontrasting

confidence: 62%

Section: Toxicity and Bioaccumulation Of Lead In Earthwormsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Determining the bioavailability and toxicity of lead contamination to earthworms requires using a combination of physicochemical and biological methods

Luo

Verweij

Gestel

2014

Environmental Pollution

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“…Because of their capacity to accumulate and concentrate large quantities of organic and inorganic pollutants, earthworm species are widely recognized as suitable organisms for biomonitoring the effects of heavy metals in contaminated soils (Reddy and Rao, 2008;Peijnenburg and Vijver, 2009). Numerous studies investigated the effects of metals on earthworms in terms of mortality (Neuhauser et al, 1985;Fitzpatrick et al, 1996;Spurgeon et al, 1994Spurgeon et al, , 2000, loss of weight (e.g. Khalil et al, 1996;Spurgeon and Hopkin, 1996;Maboeta et al, 2004), cocoon production (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earthworms Eisenia fetida affect the uptake of heavy metals by plants Vicia faba and Zea mays in metal-contaminated soils

Lemtiri

Liénard

Alabi

et al. 2016

Applied Soil Ecology

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A B S T R A C TEarthworms increase the availability of heavy metals in some situations and aid in maintaining the structure and quality of soil. The introduction of earthworms into metal-contaminated soils has been suggested as an aid for phytoremediation processes. In Wallonia, Belgium, a century of industrial metallurgic activities has led to the substantial pollution of soils by heavy metals, including copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd), due to atmospheric dusts. Two plant species, Vicia faba and Zea mays, and earthworms (Eisenia fetida) (Savigny, 1826) were exposed to different concentrations of longterm-contaminated soils for 42 days. The soil samples, which were collected from the land surrounding a former Zn-Pb ore-treatment plant, exhibited different levels of heavy metals. Our aim was to evaluate the role of earthworms E. fetida on the availability of metals in soils and their effects on metal uptake by V. faba and Z. mays plants at different soil concentrations.The results suggest that earthworms and plants modified the availability of metals in contaminated soils after 42 days of exposure. Earthworm life-cycle parameters were affected by metal contamination and/or the addition of plants; cocoon production and weight were more responsive to adverse conditions than earthworm survival or weight change. The concentrations of Pb and Cd in earthworm tissues decreased in the presence of plants. Results showed that metal accumulation in plants depended on the metal element considered and the presence of earthworms. However, the presence of earthworms did not change the concentrations of metals in plants, except for Cd. In the presence or absence of earthworms, V. faba accumulated higher concentrations of Cu and Zn compared with Z. mays, which accumulated higher concentrations of Cd. These findings have revealed that earthworm activities can modify the availability of heavy metals for uptake by plants in contaminated soils. Moreover, the study results show that the ecological context of phytoremediation should be broadened by considering earthworm-plant-soil interaction, which influence both the health of the plant and the uptake of heavy metals by plants.

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“…Our approach was to use earthworms, as they are known to improve soil fertility [2], [3]. Since earthworms can be used in several cases, such as dealing with the heavy metals in soil, we deduced that they can also be used in dealing with the unhandled plastics in the soil [4], [5]. Under these motives, we began to precede our experiment.…”

Section: A Aim Of Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study on the Utilization of the Earthworms Eisenia fetida and Eisenia andrei for the Disposal of Polymers

Kim¹

2016

IJESD

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Abstract-Disposing plastics has been an incredibly arduous task. Many of the plastics that people use take tens of hundreds of years to decompose. Yet, plastic usage increases year by year. Plastics have actually become a part of people's lives, from water bottles to the exterior of televisions. To eliminate the usage of plastics would be impossible. Therefore, methods for effectively disposing plastics are necessary. However, the existing models are rather too inefficient or are too expensive. To incinerate plastics would be environmentally harmful, while to implement high level technology would not be popular when it comes to expenses. Therefore, we planned to propose a solution that would consider both cost and efficiency. We decided to use earthworms since they not only best satisfied our standards, but also are able to eat a variety of materials, including organic materials, inorganic materials, and various wastes. Under this basis, we placed five different powders of the polymers Polyethylene, Polymer Nylon, Polypropylene, Ethylene vinyl acetate, and Linear low-density polyethylene into the soil, and used two different types of earthworms (Eisenia fetida and Eisenia andrei). With our experiment set, we carefully observed the activity of the earthworms and the change in mass of each polymer.

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Effects of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc on growth, reproduction and survival of the earthworm Eisenia fetida (Savigny): Assessing the environmental impact of point-source metal contamination in terrestrial ecosystems

Cited by 336 publications

References 15 publications

Determining the bioavailability and toxicity of lead contamination to earthworms requires using a combination of physicochemical and biological methods

Determining the bioavailability and toxicity of lead contamination to earthworms requires using a combination of physicochemical and biological methods

Earthworms Eisenia fetida affect the uptake of heavy metals by plants Vicia faba and Zea mays in metal-contaminated soils

A Study on the Utilization of the Earthworms Eisenia fetida and Eisenia andrei for the Disposal of Polymers

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