Scientific investigations have established the viability of using earthworms as a treatment technique for numerous waste streams besides producing organic fertilizers. Vermicomposting results in the bioconversion of the waste stream into two useful products, earthworm biomass and vermicompost. The former can be used as a protein source whereas vermicompost is considered as an excellent product ...

The accumulation of stable strontium and its chemical analogue calcium by four species of earthworm, representing three distinct ecophysiological groups inhabiting celestite (SrSO4)-rich natural soils, was investigated. An increase in soil strontium concentration over a four-orders-of-magnitude range was accompanied by an increase in earthworm tissue strontium concentration. In contrast, no rel...

Dryland farming in the Mediterranean climate of the Pacific Northwest, USA supports extremely low earthworm populations under conventional tillage. Increases in earthworm populations are being observed in fields under no-till cropping systems. A 30+ year experiment with four tillage levels in a pea (Pisum sativum L.)-winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation was evaluated for earthworm popul...

Microarthropods are often found more abundantly in soils with earthworms than in soils without. Earthworms probably create a favourable environment for microarthropods but few studies have aimed to explain this earthworm effect. The soil collembolan (Hexapoda) Heteromurus nitidus, living in soils at pH > 5 only and thus rich in earthworms, is particularly attracted by earthworms in humus cores....

Resin coupled with m-aminophenylbornic acid was used to isolate a glycosylated component from homogenate of earthworm (Eisenia fetida). The fraction showed a single band on SDS-PAGE with a molecular weight of 34, 193 Da determined by mass spectroscopy. The N-terminal region is AQVCCPDI, different from those of earthworm fibrinolytic enzymes reported previously (Nakajima et al. 1993). This glyco...

*We thank Shane Frederick, John Lynch, Jim Bettman, and Birger Wernerfelt for helpful comments and suggestions. We are also grateful for financial support to Ariely and Prelec from the Sloan School of Management, and to Loewenstein from the Integrated Study of the Human Dimensions of Global Change at Carnegie Mellon University (NSF grant # SBR-9521914). This work started while the authors were ...

The Regional Superfund Ground Water Forum is a group of EPA professionals representing EPA’s Regional Superfund Offices, committed to the identification and the resolution of ground water issues impacting the remediation of Superfund sites. The Forum is supported by and advises the Superfund Technical Support Project. Dense nonaqueous phase liquids is an issue identified by the Forum as a conce...

Small incremental biological change, winnowed by natural selection over geological time scales to produce large consequences, was Darwin's singular insight that revolutionized the life sciences. His publications after 1859, including the 'earthworm book', were all written to amplify and support the evolutionary theory presented in the Origin. Darwin was unable to provide a physical basis for th...

Quantification of risks to the ecosystem is necessary for cost-effective remediation strategies. Contaminant endpoints need to be established that consider the bioavailability of toxicants in soil. The challenge is to develop methods that assign risk to the bioavailable toxic contaminants, thereby protecting ecosystems, while balancing remediation costs. Our objective was to evaluate changes in...

The ability of earthworms to decompose lignocellulose involves the assistance of microorganisms in their digestive system. While many studies have revealed a diverse microbiota in the earthworm gut, including aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms, it remains unclear which of these species contribute to lignocellulose digestion. In this study, aerobic microorganisms with cellulolytic activity iso...