Huge amounts of coal fly ash (FA), produced during power generation, has led to several environmental problems associated with metal pollution and the burden of its disposal. Vermicomposting has emerged as a cost-effective technique in suitable management of FA. Two epigeic earthworm species: Eisenia fetida, and Eudrilus eugeniae and one epi-endogeic species: Lumbricus rubellus were selected fo...

Here we studied how the transit through the gut of the earthworm Eisenia fetida affects the microbial and nutrient stabilization of pig and cow manure, by analyzing fresh casts. Earthworms reduced the pools of dissolved organic C and N in casts from both types of manure, as wells as mineral N. Microbial biomass was enhanced only in casts from pig manure and did not change in casts from cow manu...

Many soft-bodied invertebrates use a flexible, fluid-filled hydrostatic skeleton for burrowing. The aim of our study was to compare the scaling and morphology between surface-dwelling and burrowing earthworm ecotypes to explore the specializations of non-rigid musculoskeletal systems for burrowing locomotion. We compared the scaling of adult lumbricid earthworms across species and ecotypes to d...

We present novel length to ash-free dry mass and preclitellar diameter to ash-free dry mass allometric equations for seven earthworm species from the families Megascolecidae and Lumbricidae, all of which are exotic and most of which are of ecological concern in North America: Eisenia hortensis, Eisenia fetida, Dendrodrilus rubidus, Lumbricus rubellus, Octolasion sp., Amynthas hilgendorfi, and P...