Effects of Pesticides on the Growth and Reproduction of Earthworm: A Review

Scientific literature addressing the influence of pesticides on the growth and reproduction of earthworm is reviewed. Earthworms are considered as important bioindicators of chemical toxicity in the soil ecosystem. Studies on this aspect are important because earthworms are the common prey of many terrestrial vertebrate species such as birds and small mammals, and thus they play a key role in the biomagnification process of several soil pollutants. Majority of the studies have used mortality as an endpoint rather than subtler endpoints such as reproductive output. It is now emphasized that, whereas higher concentrations of a pollutant can easily be assessed with the acute (mortality) test, contaminated soils with lower (sublethal) pollutant concentrations require more sensitive test methods such as reproduction test in their risk assessment.