A method for assessing sublethal effects of contaminants in soils to the earthworm, Eisenia foetida

We developed and tested a procedure that allows quantification of the effects of soil contaminants on earthworm (Eisenia foetida) growth and reproduction. The procedure monitors isolated pairs of earthworms and generates a higher ratio of data per organism than other commonly used procedures. It also incorporates an accurate technique for measuring adult growth, has high sensitivity compared to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 14-d acute toxicity test, and is cost effective. We applied the method to a variety of soil-testing problems. A food-and-substrate trial using artificial soil demonstrated the sensitivity of the method and the need for food supplementation to stimulate earthworm reproduction. Application of the procedure to assess efficacy of a soil bioremediation technology revealed the advantage of measuring both growth and reproduction and highlighted the usefulness of a single integrated measure of these two responses. The method also was used as a fast-screening analysis for field soils in a large-scale ecological risk assessment. Finally, a reference toxicant, used in dilution series, demonstrated that responses of E. foetida using our method were similar to their responses in the OECD artificial-soil test method. The results of this study indicate that this procedure can be used both for regulatory and compliance needs within the framework of ecological risk assessment.