The abundance of earthworms in the soil can be affected by several factors including soil
pH, moisture, temperature, aeration, carbon dioxide, soil type, organic matter, food supply …

The scale of variation in species sensitivity to toxicants has been theoretically linked to mode
of action. Specifically, it has been proposed there will be greater variations for chemicals …

Background Populations of the earthworm, Lumbricus rubellus, are commonly found across
highly contaminated former mine sites and are considered to have under-gone selection for …

The effects of exposure to different levels of ionising radiation were assessed on the genetic,
epigenetic and microbiome characteristics of the “hologenome” of earthworms collected at …

Diffuse pollution of the environment by pesticides has become a major soil threat to non-
target organisms, such as earthworms for which declines have been reported. However …

Molecular techniques have accelerated the detection of cryptic diversity within different
animal groups, especially in soil fauna. These cryptic taxa show no morphological …

Intensive management of arable land reduces earthworm density and diversity. This may
impair earthworm-mediated soil functions, such as nutrient mineralization and soil structure …

Cities represent expanding landscapes across the Earth's surface, significantly replacing
natural and agricultural landscapes [1, 2] and are projected to cover 8% of the world's land …

Uncovering the genetic and evolutionary basis of cryptic speciation is a major focus of
evolutionary biology. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) allows the identification of …

Molecular techniques could aid earthworm species identification, especially when
morphological characters are not taxonomically informative, or difficult to discern. No …