Abstract Earthworms are “ecosystem engineers” that improve soil water and nutrient content, macroporosity, aeration, provide suitable habitats for microbial populations. This study aimed at defining if the presence of epigeic earthworms ( Eisenia sp.) affected growth development two plant species Brassica oleracea Vicia faba ) via modifications chemico-physical properties. A mesocosm experiment...

1. Ambrosia trifida L. (giant ragweed), an aggressive weed of US grain crops and indigenous to North America, colonizes no-tillage crop fields and undisturbed soils despite its large seed size and susceptibility to seed predation. Secondary seed dispersal is critical to seed survival and seedling establishment, yet mechanisms of secondary dispersal are poorly understood for such large-seeded we...

The earthworms Eisenia andrei were used to study the toxicity of PCDD/Fs mixtures to earthworms during 28 day of exposure. The experiments were performed on artificial soils contaminated with dioxins at levels of C1 (0.1 ng 2, 3, 7, 8-TCDD/g soil), C2 (1 ng 2, 3, 7, 8-TCDD/g soil) and C3 (1.5 ng 2, 3, 7, 8-TCDD/g soil). Effects of PCDD/Fs on survival, growth rate and immune responses; phagocyto...

The effect of soil contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and heavy metals on earthworms and enchytraeids was studied in urban parks, in Brno, Czech Republic. In spring and autumn 2007, annelids were collected and soil samples taken in lawns along transects, at three different distances (1, 5 and 30 m) from streets with heavy traffi c. In both seasons, two parks with two transe...

Globally, cypermethrin is one of the most widely used synthetic pyrethroid for agricultural and domestic purposes. Most part of the pesticides used in the agriculture ends up as residues in the soil, making soil dwelling organisms, especially earthworms more susceptible to pesticide intoxication. Cypermethrin is known to be a neurotoxicant to many model organisms, including mammals and insects,...

Pineapple wastes, an abundant organic waste in Accra, Ghana, were vermicomposted using native earthworms (Eudrilus eugeniae Kinberg) collected from the banks of streams and around bath houses of this city. Triplicate pilot-scale vermidigesters containing about 90 earthworms and three other control boxes with no earthworms were fed pineapple pulp or peels, and the loss of wet mass was monitored ...

Worm man: Darwin’s interest in earthworms led to the publication, in the last year of his life, of a book about them. This is a caricature of Darwin’s theory in the Punch almanac for 1882, published at the end of 1881, just after publication of his book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms with Observations of their Habits. (Image: PD-ART(cc PD-old-100)/Wikimedia Common...