Surviving the summer as the climate changes: investigating drivers and costs of aestivation in earthworms

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Title
Surviving the summer as the climate changes: investigating drivers and costs of aestivation in earthworms

CoPED ID
5ba2b851-e909-4530-93ee-7c6f9c28cd06

Status
Active

Funders

Value
No funds listed.

Start Date
Sept. 30, 2021

End Date
March 30, 2025

Description

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Climate change has resulted in an increase in extreme weather
including the frequency of drought events.
Earthworms are "ecosystem engineers" that help to aerate the
soil, improve water retention and circulate nutrients through their
burrowing activity. One strategy that some earthworm species
deploy for surviving periods of drought is aestivation, in which
the earthworm curls up into a ball and maintains a low level of
metabolic activity until conditions are favourable. Following
drought, earthworms show increased feeding, which suggests

Project outline

that aestivation is energy demanding. The precise conditions
that initiate aestivation, how frequently and for how long an
earthworm can aestivate, and how costly this process is are all
unknown
With increased likelihood of droughts, aestivation may become
a less effective way for earthworms to survive inhospitable
conditions that not only reduce their abundance and diversity
but are likely to have an impact on soil quality and productivity.

Penelope Jane Watt SUPER_PER
Roberta Bray STUDENT_PER

Subjects by relevance
  1. Soil
  2. Lumbricidae
  3. Dryness
  4. Climate changes
  5. Soil organisms
  6. Lumbricus terrestris
  7. Climate
  8. Soil biota

Extracted key phrases
  1. Earthworm specie
  2. Climate change
  3. Aestivation
  4. Drought event
  5. Precise condition
  6. Increase
  7. Driver
  8. Extreme weather
  9. Metabolic activity
  10. Summer
  11. Cost
  12. Quot;ecosystem engineers&quot
  13. Effective way
  14. Soil quality
  15. Water retention

Related Pages

UKRI project entry

UK Project Locations