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MOVEMENT OF EELWORMS
Author(s) -
WALLACE H. R.
Publication year - 1958
Publication title -
annals of applied biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1744-7348
pISSN - 0003-4746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7348.1958.tb02249.x
Subject(s) - particle size , particle (ecology) , constant (computer programming) , biology , materials science , ecology , computer science , programming language , paleontology
Tracks were plotted of about 300 individual eelworms comprising six species among water droplets on a glass surface. Measurements of the tracks indicated that the product of length and activity of an eelworm divided by its speed was a constant. This supports the hypothesis that the speed of an eelworm among water droplets is a function of its length and activity. This principle can only be applied to movement in soil where the length of the eelworm is less than about three times the particle diameter. Under such conditions the eelworms move in thin films or water droplets over particles. Among smaller‐sized particles the speed of the eelworms is influenced by particle size. With increasing eelworm length there is an increase in soil particle size for maximum mobility.