This study compared the uptake and depuration of four commonly used pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, diclofenac, fluoxetine and orlistat) in two earthworm species (Lumbricus terrestris and Eisenia fetida). L. terrestris are a larger species and often found in deep burrows whereas E. fetida prefer to reside near the soil surface. Species burrowing habits and sizes may alter uptake by earthworms. ...

The present study investigated the acute toxic effects of a metal-loaded Bauxsol reagent (MLBR), containing more than 6,450 mg kg(-1) of bound metal, on the earthworm Eisenia fetida. Bauxsol is manufactured by Virotec Global Solutions of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The E. fetida were exposed to 0, 10, 20, 40, 60, and 80% treatments of MLBR plus cow manure for 28 d. Good motility and no m...

Survival of earthworms in the environment depends on their ability to recognize and eliminate potential pathogens. This work is aimed to compare the innate defense mechanisms of two closely related earthworm species, Eisenia andrei and Eisenia fetida, that inhabit substantially different ecological niches. While E. andrei lives in a compost and manure, E. fetida can be found in the litter layer...

Triclosan (TCS) is a broad-spectrum bactericide that is used for a variety of antimicrobial functions. TCS is frequently detected in the terrestrial environment due to application of sewage sludge to agricultural land. In the present study, 48-h paper contact and 28-day spiked soil tests were conducted to examine the toxic effects of TCS on the antioxidative and genetic indices of earthworms (E...

A laboratory microcosm experiment was conducted to determine whether the earthworm Eisenia fetida could survive in a saline soil from a field site in North China, and an experiment using response surface methodology was conducted at that field site to quantify the effects of E. fetida and green waste compost (GWC) on the salt content of the soil. The microcosm results showed that E. fetida surv...

In this study, we performed ecotoxicity tests of sodium arsenite on soil invertebrate Eisenia fetida. Initially, broad range of sodium arsenite (0.1, 1, 10, 100mg/ml) was tested for mortality of E. fetida after 24 hours in filter paper test. The narrow range doses (0-1mg/ml) were further tested to determine the EC50 and LD50. The EC50 dose of sodium arsenite was considered at which 50% of earth...

Domestic sewage sludge and cattle manure are rich in nutrition elements, but without proper disposal, are harmful to the environment. Here with an indoor culture method, we used Eisenia fetida to dispose different ratios of sewage sludge and cattle manure, and thereby investigated the effects and acting rules of these sludge-manure mixtures on the growth and reproduction of E. fetida. We find t...

The process of vermicomposting with Eisenia fetida has been regarded as a viable solution to the frequent disposal and waste of used coffee grounds. The effects of coffee grounds on earthworms have yet to be fully understood. In a manipulative experiment with varying ratios of coffee grounds and earthworms, we investigate how the amount of coffee grounds affect total earthworm biomass and also ...

The ecotoxicological effects of transgenic maize-expressed vaccine protein, Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin subunit B (LTB), on two soil invertebrates were studied under laboratory settings. After being reared for 28 days on LTB-maize-treated soils, no apparent mortality of the springtail, Folsomia candida , or the earthworm, Eisenia fetida , was observed at levels well above conservat...

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...