The Most Earthwormy of Them All
Earthworm dissection lab March 13, 2014 Zhengde Du
Objective
Lumbricus terrestris
Background information
Earthworms are mostly in soil but there may be times when earthworms are in a different habitat such as an underwater location. Earthworms decompose dead organisms in the soil and keep it healthy. They are the main contributors to nourishment and enrichment in soil. When earthworms move through the soil, they make tiny tunnels that allows water to properly enter the ground and into the roots of plants. They also eat organic matter such as decaying leaves ( which is pretty useless to the plants) and they release their wastes known as castings which provide nutrients in the soil.
Earthworms do not prey on anything since they eat decaying leaves but they do have predators such as moles, birds, and raccoon. There are many other predators since Earthworms contain a lot of nutrients but those are just a few examples. However, earthworms have ways to hide from their predators. They adapted to have brown skin to camouflage with the soil and they also have segmented bodies to become flexible.