One of the problems with existing cultivation of earthworms is the sorting technique, which is time laborious. The aim of my experiments with Eisenia andrei (Lumbricidae) was to determine if a specific substance or attractant biased foraging direction of the worms. The substance or attractant would function as an enticement to lure E. andrei to one place and concentrate the worm population in a particular area. A trap construction, based on concentration of the worm population, was tested to improve current sorting techniques. The research of many aspects of oligochaeta is a fairly new field with a lot of unanswered questions, which makes it difficult to evaluate in which extent worm behavior is affected by other aspects besides temperature, moist content and chemical stimulation. The results of my elaboration with different chemical attractants and the worms foraging behavior indicate a favoring of mown grass, but further trials are necessary to achieve more accurate results.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-268332 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Martelius, Janna |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för biologisk grundutbildning |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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