This study investigated the copulatory behaviour of the lumbricid earthworm Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826) in a natural population, and the uniparental reproduction of E. fetida and E. andrei Bouché 1972, two closely-related species. Sperm transfer occurred in 61 % of the matings observed, of which 88.2 % showed bi-directional sperm transfer, 9.8 % unidirectional sperm transfer and one earthwor...

Earthworms form an essential group of soil macrofauna that performs a number ecosystem functions in forests. Studies the species composition and population density earthworms were conducted many regions Russia; however, fauna Lumbricidae Novosibirsk area remained unexplored for long time. The objective this work is to carry out comparative analysis earthworm coniferous small foliage forests for...

Trifluralin is a preemergent herbicide that applied to soil control annual grasses and broadleaf weeds. It widely used in cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., production China; however, the ecological safety of its continued use controversial issue. We studied interaction trifluralin earthworms, Eisenia foetide Savigny (Annelida: Lumbricidae), provide additional information for assessing risk soils. ...

On alpine pastureland the decline in large-bodied earthworm numbers and biomass after abandonment of management might be the result of a shift from highly palatable grass litter to poorly digestible leaf litter of dwarf shrubs. To test this hypothesis, we analysed nitrogen, phosphorous and total phenolic contents of fresh and aged litter of eight commonly occuring alpine plant species and compa...