A greenhouse mesocosm experiment, representing earthworm-free North American Acer-dominated forest Xoor and soil conditions, was used to examine the individual and combined eVects of initial invasion by three European earthworm species (Dendrobaena octaedra, Lumbricus rubellus and Lumbricus terrestris) on the forest Xoor and upper soil horizons, N and P availability, and the mortality and bioma...

Interactions among the foraging behaviours of co-occurring animal species can impact population and community dynamics; the consequences of interactions between plant and animal foraging behaviours have received less attention. In North American forests, invasions by European earthworms have led to substantial changes in plant community composition. Changes in leaf litter have been identified a...

The antiparasitic activity of the drupe extracts of Melia azedarach L. (Meliaceae) growing in Argentina was tested against a tapeworm and an earthworm, showing to be better against tapeworms than the standard piperazine phosphate, which is used in the treatment of Cestoda infections.

Earthworms enhance plant growth but the precise mechanism by which this occurs is not known. An understanding of could potentially support changes in agricultural management reducing fertiliser usage and therefore costs carbon footprint agriculture. We conducted a factorial experiment 5 strains wheat were grown presence absence earthworms under regular watering droughted conditions. The differe...

Antianthelmintic activity of successive extracts (chloroform, acetone, ethanol and aqueous) of Nauclea orientalis leaves were evaluated separately on adult Indian earthworm (Pheretima posthuma) and compared with that of albendazole. It was found that the extracts exhibited, respectively dose-dependent action and inhibition of spontaneous motility (paralysis) and death of earthworms. The results...

Ceramide glycanase (CGase) is an enzyme that cleaves the linkage between the sugar chain and the ceramide. To make this enzyme readily available, we have developed a simple method for preparing it from the earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris. The method involves Bio-Gel A-0.5m, octyl-Sepharose and p-aminophenylthiogalactoside-agarose column chromatography. By gel filtration, the molecular mass of e...

Earthworms are eco-friendly and play a variety of roles in agro ecosystem. The gut of earthworm is the factory to manufacture the beneficial microbial densities and their products. The excreted nutrients enrich thousand times more than the surrounding soil. Experiments have proven that crops grown in earthworm inhabitant soils had increased the yields from 25% to over 300% than in earthworm fre...

Earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) produce a chemical substance that is readily detected by and serves as an attractant for garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis). This chemoattractant is sensed by the vomeronasal system of snakes. Amino acid analysis of the chemoattractant revealed a high hydroxyproline/proline ratio and large amounts of serine and threonine. More than one-third of the residues we...