Publication details
Avoidance test with Enchytraeus albidus: Is avoidance of individual worms comparable to avoidance of grouped worms?
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2009 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The avoidance tests are based on a presumption that each individual organism which is introduced into the test vessel behaves independently of the other individuals. This is usually verified by using dual-controls with clear substrate on the both sides of the test vessel when the same number of individuals is expected to be on the both sides at the end of the test. In our study, the linkage between individual worm and the whole group was verified on the species Enchytraeus albidus. One or ten individuals were introduced into the test vessels containing clean LUFA 2.2 soil on the one side and the same soil contaminated by pesticide carbendazim on the other side. Concentration used was derived from EC50 value (7.6 mg/kg) of preliminary avoidance test. The reaction of worms was measured after 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours. The results indicated that worms in groups needed 12 – 24 hours to show significant avoidance response while single worms started to significantly prefer control soil after longer time (48 hours). Nevertheless, it seems that after sufficient time (> 2 days) the overall result of the test run in both designs showed similar results. Our results demonstrated that worms in groups move independently and their avoidance behavior does not really differ significantly from the behavior of individual worms. |
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