Soil moisture and temperature interact to affect growth, survivorship, fecundity, and fitness in the earthworm Eisenia fetida

Presley, Morgan L.; McElroy, Tom C.; Diehl, Walter J.

doi:10.1016/0300-9629(96)00017-5

Cited by 49 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Earthworm populations are strongly affected by both temperature and soil moisture (Pelosi et al 2008). Laboratory manipulations have shown that the growth and survival of individuals is positively related to soil moisture, whereas temperature effects vary between species (Lance Presley et al 1996, Whalen & Parmelee 1999, Berry & Jordon 2001, Wever et al 2001). In the field, significant mortality may occur during periods of high temperatures and summer drought (Gerard 1967, Phillipson et al 1976, with earthworm abundance positively correlated with soil moisture on farmland (Sheldon et al 2002).…”

Section: Sensitivity Of Prey Taxa To Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Using diet to assess the sensitivity of northern and upland birds to climate change

Pearce‐Higgins¹

2010

Clim. Res.

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High-latitude species are predicted to be vulnerable to climate change, particularly in the UK uplands, where many are at the margins of their southern range. There is increasing evidence that climate change may have an impact on populations through reductions in prey abundance. The diet of 17 insectivorous UK upland birds, and the sensitivity of their prey to likely climate change, were quantified from the literature and combined to produce an index of climate-change sensitivity for upland birds. Coleoptera and Diptera were the 2 most important prey taxa, with Tipulidae the most widely ingested prey family. Lepidoptera, Lumbricidae and Hymenoptera also comprised > 20% of the diet of at least one upland bird species. Of these prey taxa, existing studies suggest that Tipulidae, Chironomidae and Lumbridicae may be particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures and increased frequency of drought projected to result from climate change. Therefore, the contribution of these 3 taxa to the diets of upland birds provides an index of climate-change sensitivity, which was correlated with an index of recent upland bird population trends. Future increases in temperature and drought frequency are expected to have an impact on populations of a range of upland bird species through reductions in prey availability, although further studies are required to test this hypothesis. Many upland areas have been artificially drained using ditches. Blocking these ditches may therefore provide a potential management option for climate-change adaptation in the UK uplands.

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Section: Sensitivity Of Prey Taxa To Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Using diet to assess the sensitivity of northern and upland birds to climate change

Pearce‐Higgins¹

2010

Clim. Res.

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“…The earthworms used in these analyses were a subset of an experimental population that has been described previously (Presley et al, 1996;McElroy et al, 1999). We used E. andrei from three soil moisture/temperature treatments (3 ml H 2 O/g dry peat moss, 151C (n ¼ 64); 3 ml/g, 201C (n ¼ 87); 4 ml/g, 151C (n ¼ 99)) that promoted similar growth curves (Figure 1) and had sufficient survivorship for the analyses reported here.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On each sampling date, earthworms were removed from their vials, rinsed in aged tap water, blotted dry, weighed, and returned to the vial with fresh peat moss and food. Fresh weight is a good surrogate for fitness in this species (Presley et al, 1996).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ontogenetic change in relative performance of allozyme genotypes influences detection of heterosis in the earthworm Eisenia andrei

McElroy

Diehl

2004

Heredity

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The effect of ontogeny on relationships between allozyme genotypes and fresh weight was measured weekly throughout the life history of the earthworm Eisenia andrei to test the hypothesis that there is an ontogenetic component to variation in such relationships. Two of six allozyme loci showed a significant increase in apparent heterosis with ontogeny, while one locus showed a significant decrease in apparent heterosis. Three loci showed a significant decrease in the performance of common homozygotes with ontogeny. Patterns of relative genotypic performance varied among loci, but the cumulative effect was an increase in apparent allozyme heterosis later in ontogeny coinciding with a series of positive relationships between multilocus heterozygosity and fresh weight. The results could not be used to determine whether these patterns were caused by selection acting on the loci directly or on loci tightly linked to allozyme loci. However, because the same individuals were used throughout this study and thus allele frequencies and heterozygote deficiency were constant, the presence of both ontogenetic effects and differences in such patterns among loci is not compatible with a general inbreeding effect. Examining relative genotypic performance repetitively using the same individuals through ontogeny or in different environments is a very powerful experimental design for testing the effects of inbreeding or other populational factors.

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“…Hatchlings were raised from cocoons deposited by adults bred in the laboratory colony. All worms were housed in plastic bins filled with moist peat moss (Inouye et al, 2006) at 15°C (Presley et al, 1996) and fed dried infant oatmeal (Ownby et al, 2005).…”

Section: Eisenia Fetida Collection and Maintenancementioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in scaling and morphology between lumbricid earthworm ecotypes

Kurth¹,

Kier

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Many soft-bodied invertebrates use a flexible, fluid-filled hydrostatic skeleton for burrowing. The aim of our study was to compare the scaling and morphology between surface-dwelling and burrowing earthworm ecotypes to explore the specializations of non-rigid musculoskeletal systems for burrowing locomotion. We compared the scaling of adult lumbricid earthworms across species and ecotypes to determine whether linear dimensions were significantly associated with ecotype. We also compared the ontogenetic scaling of a burrowing species, Lumbricus terrestris, and a surface-dwelling species, Eisenia fetida, using glycol methacrylate histology. We show that burrowing species are longer, thinner and have higher length-todiameter ratios than non-burrowers, and that L. terrestris is thinner for any given body mass compared with E. fetida. We also found differences in the size of the musculature between the two species that may correlate with surface crawling or burrowing. Our results suggest that adaptations to burrowing for soft-bodied animals include a disproportionately thin body and strong longitudinal muscles.

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Soil moisture and temperature interact to affect growth, survivorship, fecundity, and fitness in the earthworm Eisenia fetida

Cited by 49 publications

References 13 publications

Using diet to assess the sensitivity of northern and upland birds to climate change

Using diet to assess the sensitivity of northern and upland birds to climate change

Ontogenetic change in relative performance of allozyme genotypes influences detection of heterosis in the earthworm Eisenia andrei

Differences in scaling and morphology between lumbricid earthworm ecotypes

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