Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1016/j.apsoil.2017.11.007
Titel (primär) Eco-friendly method for the extraction of earthworms: Comparative account of formalin, AITC and Allium cepa as extractant
Autor Singh, J.; Singh, S.; Bhat, S.A.; Vig, A.P.; Schädler, M.
Quelle Applied Soil Ecology
Erscheinungsjahr 2018
Department BZF; iDiv
Band/Volume 124
Seite von 141
Seite bis 145
Sprache englisch
Keywords Chemical extraction; Earthworm sampling; Ecological group; Expellant solutions; Vermifuge
UFZ Querschnittsthemen RU1;
Abstract Earthworms play an important role in ecosystems and act as a soil engineers changing the physico-chemical properties of soil. Eco-friendly methods for the extraction of earthworms are needed to assess earthworm abundance, biomass and their diversity. In this study, a comparison was made to find out the most effective chemical expellants for the extraction of earthworms in different concentrations of Formalin, Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) (0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.0 g/l), Allium cepa solution (50, 100, 150 and 200 g/l) and distilled water as a control. Three species of earthworms from the family Megascolecidae have been extracted belonging to two ecological groups: the endogeic species Metaphire posthuma as well as the anecic species Lampito mauritti and Amynthas morissi. The number of extracted individuals across all species and age classes was significantly affected by the type of vermifuge. A. cepa solution was more efficient than Formalin and AITC for extraction of worms and it is also similarly efficient for extracting adult worms and juveniles. Only for the number of extracted juveniles and individuals of A. morissi the effects of formalin and AITC were not significantly different (p > 0.05), in all other cases AITC was more efficient than formalin. It was found that A. cepa solution expelled 66.15% and 53.30% more numbers of earthworms than AITC and formalin respectively. We conclude that A. cepa extraction solution is a suitable and eco-friendly alternative to AITC and formalin for sampling of endogeic and anecic earthworms.
dauerhafte UFZ-Verlinkung https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=20097
Singh, J., Singh, S., Bhat, S.A., Vig, A.P., Schädler, M. (2018):
Eco-friendly method for the extraction of earthworms: Comparative account of formalin, AITC and Allium cepa as extractant
Appl. Soil Ecol. 124 , 141 - 145 10.1016/j.apsoil.2017.11.007