Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL BIOLOGY
Volume 38, Issue 1, Pages 43-46Publisher
ELSEVIER FRANCE-EDITIONS SCIENTIFIQUES MEDICALES ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/S1164-5563(01)01122-0
Keywords
earthworms; gut load; gut transit time; Hormogaster elisae; soil turnover
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The gut load and gut transit time (GTT) of the endogeic earthworm Hormogaster elisae in laboratory cultures at 18 degreesC and 23 degreesC were studied. The GTT, 5.25 h +/- 0.40 at 18 degreesC and 3.63 h +/- 0.46 at 23 degreesC, was determined by staining the soil with alimentary colouring (tartrazine). The gut load was calculated with two methods: earthworm mass difference, before and after voiding the gut, and dry mass of the gut content. The gut load ranged between 168 and 261 mg wet mass g live earthworm mass(-1) (mass difference method) or 137-196 mg dry mass g live earthworm mass(-1) (dry mass method). With the obtained data a potential annual soil turnover for H. elisae was calculated: 211-470 kg wet soil mass kg live earthworm mass(-1) year(-1) (mass difference method) or 176-325 kg dry soil mass kg live earthworm mass(-1) year(-1) (dry mass method). (C) 2002 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.
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