Earthworms and Human Activities

1
Earthworms and Human Activities
Baltimore Collaborative for Environmental
Biology
Mary Valentino Towson University  
Katalin Szlavecz The Johns Hopkins University  
Results and Discussion
Using the raw data, earthworm biomass and
densities per meter squared were calculated for
each site. The results are shown below (Figure
2). The data for each site is then compared and
contrasted to other sites with the same and
different land uses. Earthworms are common in
all sampling site with the exception of two grass
plots. Our preliminary results reflect a
difference in the earthworm populations among
sites with various land uses, but these patterns
are not consistent. This can be attributed to a
variety of factors. The sites were visited only
once and the samples were taken on separate
occasion throughout the summer. Weather,
temperature, or soil moisture could have been
different on the days that the samples were taken
at each site, therefore, affecting the results.
Our plan is to increase the number of sampling
sites and visits to capture seasonal differences.
 
Figure 3
Left Various burrowing techniques of different
species of earthworms. Right A
close-up view of an earthworm.
     
Figure 2
Acknowledgements This research was supported by
a grant from the National Science Foundation
Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology
program (DEB99-75463) and Towson University. In
addition we would like to thank Department of
Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, Maryland for providing
laboratory facilities. We are grateful to Ali
Shybut, Nadia Asancheyev, and Victor Ukpolo Jr.
for their help in the field. Special thanks to
Dr. Jane Wolfson and Dr. Alan R. Berkowitz for
their help and support.    




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Untreated grass plot
Forested plot
Treated grass plot