The dense microbial communities commonly associated with plants and animals should offer many opportunities for horizontal gene transfer through described mechanisms of DNA exchange including natural transformation (NT). However, studies of the significance of NT have focused primarily on pathogens. The study presented here demonstrates highly efficient DNA exchange by NT in a common symbiont o...

As a standard testing organism in soil ecosystems, the earthworm Eisenia fetida has been used widely in toxicity studies. However, tests at the individual level are time- and animal-consuming, with limited sensitivity. Earthworm coelomocytes are important for the assimilation and elimination of exogenous compounds and play a key role in the processes of phagocytosis and inflammation. In this st...

The effect of inorganic fertilizer (NPK) on earthworm population was studied for two years (20022004) under different plantations at Sakawrtuichhun (SKT) and Pachhunga University College (PUC) agroforestry sites in Mizoram, north-eastern state of India. Five species of earthworms, viz. Drawida sp., Metaphire houletti (Perrier), Perionyx excavatus (Perrier), Perionyx macintoshi (Stephenson) and ...

We investigated the function of octopamine (OA) as a motor pattern inducer in the earthworm Eisenia fetida. We used semi-intact preparations, consisting of 20 sequential segmental ganglia of the ventral nerve cord (VNC) together with the body wall from the middle of the animal. Bath-application of 10(-4) mol l(-1) OA to the semi-intact preparation induced phasic muscle contractions, which are c...

(1) Elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2) may affect organic inputs to woodland soils with potential consequences for C dynamics and associated aggregation; (2) The Bangor Free Air Concentration Enrichment experiment compared ambient (330 ppmv) and elevated (550 ppmv) CO2 regimes over four growing seasons (2005–2008) under Alnus glutinosa, Betula pendula and Fagus sylvatica. Litter from the experimen...

Invasive non-native earthworms in forested areas of the northeastern United States are of concern since they have the potential to greatly change the nutrient dynamics of these ecosystems. Urban landscapes are particularly susceptible to non-native species invasions. In this study, we assessed earthworm communities and nitrogen transformations rates in urban and rural forest patches of the Grea...

This paper describes development of a three somites earthworm type mobile inspection robot which is able to move in long pipes. We have many small diameter pipes which are gas or water pipes for individual or corporate houses and boilers or hot water pipes for industries. They are settled in the ground horizontally or in the narrow spaces vertically and some of them are covered by casings or ha...

Despite the overwhelming importance of earthworm activity in the soil system, there are a limited number of studies that have examined the impact resulting from biochar addition to soil. Biochar is part of the black carbon continuum of chemo-thermal converted biomass. This review summarizes existing data pertaining to earthworms where biochar and other black carbon substances, including slash-a...

Using high-speed video motion analysis, the kinematics of feeding behavior was studied in Rana pipiens. Rana pipiens exhibits differing behavior patterns depending upon prey type. When feeding on small prey such as waxworms, R. pipiens uses tongue protraction to catch prey, minimizing head and body movements. When feeding on the larger earthworm, it arches its body, flexes the head downwards an...

Underground community assemblies have not been studied well compared with aboveground communities, despite their importance for our understanding of whole ecosystems. To investigate underground community assembly over evolutionary timescales, we examined terrestrial earthworm communities (Oligochaeta: Haplotaxida) in conserved mountainous primary forests in Japan as a model system. We collected...