Ref ID : 6871
Goran Bengtsson, Torsten Gunnarsson, and Sten Rundgren; Effects of Metal Pollution on the Earthworm Dendrobaena rubida (Sav.) in Acidified Soils. Water,Air,and Soil Pollution 28:361-383, 1986
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Survival of adult Dendrobaena rubida, cocoon production, cocoon viability, and growth of juveniles were examined in laboratory experiments when the worms were reared in acidified and metal polluted soils. Solutions of Cu, Cd and Pb were added to give total concentrations of 10, 100 and 500 µg g-1 in soils with a pH of 4.5, 5.5 and 6.5. Adult tissues, hatchlings and cocoons were analyzed for metals. D. rubida survived poorly in soils with low pH, especially in combination with Pb or Cu, which accumulated in seminal vesicles and cerebral ganglion. Cocoon production was halved when pH was lowered from 6.5 to 4.5 and metals reduced the cocoon number even more in the most acid soils. Hatching success was lower than 20% in acidified soils. In contrast, the number of hatchlings increased when pH decreased and peaked in soils polluted with Cd. While low pH reduced the embryonic development time, metals prolonged it. Juveniles grew slowly and died early at low pH.