Mucus excretion and carbon turnover of endogeic earthworms |
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Authors: | S Scheu |
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Institution: | (1) Abteilung Ökologie, II. Zoologisches Institut der Universität, Berliner Strasse 28, W-3400 Göttingen, Federal Republic of Germany |
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Abstract: | Summary Mucus excretion of endogeic earthworms, by the body surface to burrow walls and by the intestine to casts, was investigated using uniformly 14C-labelled adult or subadult specimens of Octolasion lacteum (Örley) in laboratory incubations in soil from a beechwood on limestone. The daily loss of C due to mucus excretion from the body surface and in casts was calculated as 0.2 and 0.5% of total animal C, respectively. The C loss due to mucus excretion by subadult or adult individuals of O. lacteum is assumed to account for 63% of total C losses (including mucus excretion and respiration) of the earthworms. In a second experiment we studied the incorporation of 14C from labelled soil, again from a beechwood on limestone, into the tissue of the endogeic earthworm species Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny). The results of this experiment indicate the existence of two C pools, one more labile and one more stable, in earthworms. It is assumed that the C investment for respiration and mucus excretion is derived from the labile C pool of endogeic earthworms. |
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Keywords: | Endogeic earthworms Lumbricidae Mucus excretion C turnover Octolasion lacteum Aporrectodea caliginosa |
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