### animal | worm:

Earthworm
* All earthworms are hermaphrodites
  - hermaphroditic and reproduce sexually
* Many earthworms can also regenerate parts of their bodies if they've been damaged
  - live in the topsoil, while others dwell deeper in the soil
* Most earthworms absorb oxygen.
* Most earthworms adapt to different habitats
* Most earthworms are better at regenerating tails than heads, but some can
  - classified as animals
  - hermaphrodites, which means they carry both male and female reproductive organs
  - known as worms
  - located in soil
  - scavengers that feed on dead organic matter
  - can regrow lost segments
* Most earthworms come out at nights
  - to surfaces
  - consume nutrients
* Most earthworms eat dirt
  - food
  - larvae
  - leaves
  - substances
  - excrete waste
  - favor neutral to slightly acidic soil
  - feed on leaves
* Most earthworms have bilateral symmetry
  - both male and female organs
  - characteristics
  - circular muscles
  - common characteristics
  - digestive tracts
  - exposure
  - functions
  - gills
  - individual requirements
  - permeable skin
  - thin skin
  - inhabit vertical burrows
* Most earthworms live in areas
  - on roots
* Most earthworms live on shallow roots
  - tree roots
* Most earthworms look like adult worms
* Most earthworms lose body moisture
* Most earthworms possess amazing powers of repairing body damage caused by predators or by accident
  - sense organs
* Most earthworms possess special organs
* Most earthworms prefer darkness
  - different environments
  - reach adulthood
  - require oxygen
* Most earthworms survive for several weeks
  - take food
* Most earthworms thrive in areas
  - wood areas
* Most earthworms use circular muscles
* Some earthworms absorb nutrients
  - are also able to regrow small parts of their body that have been lost or injured
  - can also reproduce asexually by fragmentation followed by regeneration
* Some earthworms can have effects
  - harmful effects
  - choose to live their whole lives in the ground's upper layer of soil and leaves
  - dig soil
* Some earthworms eat earthworms
  - harmful nematodes
  - emerge from burrows
* Some earthworms feed on decompose vegetation
  - feel vibration
* Some earthworms have absence
  - as many as ten hearts
  - blood
* Some earthworms have male organs
  - pairs
  - preference
  - red blood
  - respiratory organs
  - strategies
  - teeth
* Some earthworms live in burrows
  - permanent burrows
* Some earthworms move amounts
  - from places
* Some earthworms occupy different niches
  - perform functions
* Some earthworms play important roles
  - major roles
* Some earthworms prefer maples
  - mud
  - produce urine
  - push pharynxs
* Some earthworms use setae
  - tubules.
  * Most earthworms can regrow lost segments. This capability varies by species though
* absorb and lose moisture through their skin
* actually eat the soil.
* aerate the soil by channeling through it, thereby improving drainage
  - so that the roots of plants can better obtain oxygen
  - soil, promote drainage, and draw organic material into their burrow
* alone can have a devastating impact on a landfill cap.
* also act as food for a wide variety of soil predators
  - aerate the soil, improving drainage, which can contribute to higher crop yields
  - burrow in the mud of caves and are exactly the same as surface species
  - come to the surface during rain to mate
  - form a very important decomposer link in many food chains
  - have gizzards
  - improve soil structure
  - make mounds, the particles of which are distinct pellets
  - move up and down in the soil and compost creating passageways for air and water
* alternately elongate and contract.
* are a favour food.
* are a good example of soil-dwelling detritivores
  - example, as are select species of salamanders and crustaceans
  - great food too
  - valuable tool in the garden as they aerate and fertilize the soil
  - vital contribution to the Earth
  - able to breathe their skin
  - about four to five inches in length
  - active in the springtime and are involved in recycling the leaves in local woods
  - adapted for life underground
* are also an unofficial broad classification of worms
  - divided into three subcategories depending on their ecosystem
  - scavengers , but they only break down plants
  - scavengers,but they only break down plants
  - amazingly prolific breeders
  - among the most ancient of terrestrial animal groups
  - annelids meaning segmented
  - another important component of good soil
  - basic part of a organic lawn and also reduces thatch problems
  - beneficial in the garden other ways, too
  - bisexual, having both male and female reproductive organs
  - capable of regeneration
  - classic subjects for studying annelid anatomy
* are classified as animals
  - in the phylum Annelida or Annelids
  - critically important in aerating the soil
  - ecosystem engineers and can dramatically change soil
* are extremely difficult to manage once established
  - easy to keep and raise
* are found abundantly all across North America, Europe and western Asia
  - in soils, leaf litter, under stones and logs, and sometimes in trees
* are hermaphrodites , meaning they each contain male and female gametes
  - possess both male and female reproductive organs
  - which means that they have both male and female reproductive organs
  - - they have both male and female sexual organs
  - but cross-fertilize
  - where each earthworm contains both male and female sex organs
* are hermaphrodites, i.e. each have complex male and female reproductive organs
  - just as the aquatic snails
  - meaning that they exhibit both male and female characteristics
  - with both male and female reproductive organs
* are hermaphroditic and a pair of worms fertilize each other
  - but reproduce by cross mating and fertilizing
* are hermaphroditic, both male and female at the same time
  - but they cross-fertilize
  - meaning they have both male and female sexual organs
  - hermaphroditic-they contain both male and female reproductive strucures
  - incredibly useful to our environment
  - invaluble for soil health
  - invertebrates living mostly in the soil underground
  - invertebrates, lacking a skeleton
  - members of the annelid phylum
  - mollusks
* are more important than most people think
  - than just fish bait
  - most abundant around old farms and places where manure has been piled or stored
  - multi-segmented invertebrates and are both male and female
  - natural composters
  - neither male, nor female, but both
  - oligochaetes
* are one link between the geosphere and the biosphere
  - of the most important soil decomposers
  - part of the Animal Kingdom
  - perhaps the most familiar decomposer
  - resistant to many chemicals, so they can carry toxins
  - sensitive to light and usually are found above ground at night only
  - simple creatures that pack a powerful environmental punch
  - smooth-skinned worms, with a body made of many small segments
  - soft-bodied creatures with smooth segmented bodies
  - sold all over the world
  - subject to attack by a variety of pests
* are terrific aerators
  - for plants and soil
* are the best indicator yet of healthy soils
  - soil builders on earth
  - custodians, caretakers and cultivators of the humusphere
  - dominant soil faunain tropical wet forests
  - most effective live bait
  - unheralded soldiers of the soil
  - under threat from an imported cousin
* are very beneficial to the environment
  - efficient in taking dirt and turning it into food
* are very important for soil composition
  - soil inhabitants
  - sensitive to vibrations
  - vital to life
  - well-known for their beneficial effects on soil
  - worms that benefit the soil
* basically get their nutrition from fungi and bacteria.
* break apart the thatch and pull organic matter into the soil.
* breathe air through their skin, absorbing oxygen and giving off carbon dioxide
  - which diffuses oxygen from the surrounding environment
  - in the same way as their aquatic ancestors
* breathe through a thin film of water on their skin
  - their skin, and the skin has to be moist to allow air exchange
* breathe, meaning get oxygen, through their skin.
* bring the soil alive by filling it with air and breaking down the minerals.
* burrow extensively in the soil creating macropores which improve drainage
  - several feet deep
* burrow through the soil and digest dead organic matter
  - making it looser and letting in air
  - soil, eating dead plant material
* can also be a health risk as they carry the eggs of many harmful parasites
  - be cultured indoors, in a large wooden box in a cold basement, year round
  - digest half of their body weight in food matter each day
  - do the plowing for no-till agriculture
  - eat the equivalent of their own body weight daily
  - grow new body parts if they get hurt
  - live under submerged conditions if the oxygen content of the water is high enough
  - produce more compost, in a shorter time, with less effort, than any other method
  - regenerate or replace segments to a certain extent if they are injured
  - reproduce asexually by transverse fission, much like the flatworms
* come in many other colors from pink, tan, and brown to blue, green, and purple
* contribute to the growth of plants.
* crawl through the soil, eating sediments or dirt directly.
* create a soil of a certain consistency.
* dig new tunnels.
* digest the decomposing plants and plow the soil as they progress.
* do the lion's share of the decomposition work among the larger compost organisms
  - tilling
* dramatically alter soil structure, water movement, nutrient dynamics, and plant growth.
* eat and convert sludge into a more environmentally safe product
  - by swallowing soil and the nutrients from it
  - compost and also dead plants
  - compost, leaf litter, or soil and make no burrows, horizontal or vertical burrows
  - dead plants and animals
  - egg shells, orange peels and banana peel
  - leaves and dirt
  - nutrients from the soil
* eat organic material contained within the soil
  - materials found on or in earth
  - matter, such as leaves, grass, or decaying animals
  - residue that needs to be present in sufficient quantity
* eat soil and rocks
  - the organic material in it - like insect parts and bacteria
  - the soil which has organic matter such as decaying vegetation or leaves
  - through soil, extracting nutrients as the soil passes through the alimentary canal
* enhance porosity as they move through the soil
  - soil structure by burrowing and aerating the soil
  - the soil by their burrowing and feeding habits
* feed on dead or decaying organic matter, and then deposit castings in the soil
  - plant material that is found in the soil
  - roots and stems and are usually an indication of fertile soil
  - fairway clippings returned after mowing and on organic matter in the soil
  - partly decomposed organic material, which they pull down into the soil
* form a large part of their diet
  - an important part of the diet, especially in spring
  - the base of many food chains
* generate tons of casts per acre each year, dramatically altering soil structure.
* hang around under crops, munching their way through the soil and crop residues.
* have a closed circulatory system with aortic arches for pumping blood
  - good regenerative capacity
  - great effect on the soil
  - head, though they have no eyes, nose or ears
  - long body
  - modified external fertilization
  - mouth, head, tail and a saddle that is the middle of their body
  - muscular gizzard
  - positive effect on bacteria and fungi in soils
  - series of thin-walled blood vessels known as capillaries
  - simple circulatory system
  - very limited ability to regenerate certain damaged or lost parts of their body
  - both male and female reproduc-tive organs
  - distinct central and peripheral nervous systems
  - endorphins
  - ferments in their saliva which convert the woody substances into sugar
* have few invertebrate enemies, other than flatworms and a species of parasitic fly
* have five hearts
  - pairs of hearts
  - light-sensitive cells scattered in their outer skin
  - many uses from soil farmer to food for animals
  - metanephridia which are open-ended filters in each body segment that excretes urine
  - moist skin which overlays a dense network of capillaries
  - mouths but no teeth
  - nephridia in their body segments, and vertebrates have compact kidneys
* have no eyes, but they are sensitive to light
  - can sense light, particularly on their front end
  - no nose, no ears, no bones, no arms, and no legs
  - hearts, but have organs with a similar function
  - lungs, and absorb oxygen directly through their skin
  - means of regulating temperature or water loss
  - teeth, so they coat their food with saliva to aid digestion
  - none of the protective mechanisms found in other non-aggressive animals
* have the ability to regenerate a portion of the body when it is removed or damaged
  - replace or replicate lost segments
  - to dodge plenty of natural predators during their lives
  - touch, light, vibration and chemical receptors all along the entire body surface
* help aerate the soil
  - decompose dead plant and animal matter, as they digest soil
  - soils breathe
  - the process too
  - to maintain the soil, as they naturally till the earth
* improve soil conditions through aeration by burrowing in pursuit of food
  - in several ways
  - the turfgrass environment by helping to decompose thatch
* includes brains
  - cell membranes
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - nuclei
  - plasma membranes
  - sections
  - skulls
  - vacuoles
* incorporate large amounts of organic matter into the soil.
* increase the amount of nitrogen mineralized from organic matter in soil.
* ingest particles.
* ingest soil and digest the organic matter as they tunnel, producing castings
  - their digestive systems extract the organic materials
* inhabit burrows
* is segmented both externally and internally.
* keep the soil aerated and contribut nutrients needed by crops.
* lack specialized breathing devices.
* like to live in a place there is oxygen, a good temperature, moisture, and food.
* literally eat their way through the earth.
* live everywhere in the world today.
  - dark damp soil
  - dark, narrow underground burrows
  - gardens
  - strange places
* live in the soil where the air is humid
  - soil, and also in the bottom debris of all kinds of freshwater habitats
  - wet woods
* loosen the soil as they move through it.
* make America great.
* make a significant contribution to soil fertility
  - typical shrew meal
  - our soil more fertile as they pull dead leaves underground
  - significant contributions to a fertile, healthy soil
  - their tunnels all over the place underground
* mate in daylight, but are generally nocturnal above ground.
* migrate and live in healthy soils and help keep that soil area healthy
  - to and inhabit healthy soil, then help to maintain that health
* move by contracting the muscles in their segments in a wave motion
  - muscular action
* need oxygen.
* nightcrawlers out after rain.
* occur in most temperate soils and many tropical soils.
* often thrive under mulch and in general mulches usually help plants grow better.
* only live in furrows in the soil.
* open the plow sole to let oxygen in, carbon dioxide out.
* perform a similar function in terrestrial ecosystems
  - several beneficial functions
* play a key role in keeping soils healthy
  - an important role in the soil ecosystem
* possess a similar simple tubular excretory system called the metanephridia
  - soils with loamy texture
* process a vast amount of food, turning it into energy used for movement.
* produce castings with balanced plant nutrients.
* provide food for a large variety of birds and other animals.
* range in length from a tiny one millimetre to a massive three metres
  - size from a few inches long to over five feet long
* react to light, contact, moisture, chemicals, sound, etc.
* regenerate at the head, so they grow a whole new body and wiggle away.
* reproduce more with less water
* require adequate moisture for growth and survival
* respond to a single stimulus with a single, rapid withdrawal of the part stimulated.
* segmented worm
* sift through earth and dead leaves and extract pieces of food.
* speed up the process and enrich the soil.
* spend most of their time underground because their bodies dry out in the air.
* stay underground unless flooded out by rainwater.
  - darkness and live healthy lives without ever seeing the sun
  - grasslands and alfalfa
  - under no-till
* thus cause the penetration of air into the soil.
* try to stay out of sunlight because the heat from the sun dries out their skin.
* tunnel through the earth, excreting polysaccharides.
* typically live farther down, feeding on soil and decaying organic matter.
* use circular and longitudinal muscles to move through soil or along surfaces
* vary in size by species.
* wormy composting - Worm composting for children.
+ Earthworm, Diet
  * Earthworms eat soil and rocks. The rocks they eat are tiny and earthworms crush and grind them with their guts. They eat oatmeal. Earthworms eat roots. Earthworms eat compost and also dead plants. Their defenses are camouflaging
  - Earthworm habitats
  * Earthworms live in dark damp soil. They live in vegetable peels. They also live in meadows and dead plants. Earthworms live in gardens. They live under rocks. Earthworms live in wet woods.
  * Earthworms live in dark damp soil. They live in vegetable peels. They also live in meadows and dead plants. Earthworms live in gardens. They live under rocks. Earthworms live in wet woods. They also live in damp grass
  - Physical characteristics of an earthworm: Annelids
  * An earthworm has a pointy head and small mouth. The colour of an earthworm can be brown, pink or red. Earthworms have a long body. They look squishy and gushy and slimy, but they are not. They have tiny hairs called bristles. Earthworms have ringed segments. They have a saddle where it lays its eggs. Earthworms have five pairs of hearts.
  * Earthworms have a long body. They look squishy and gushy and slimy, but they are not. They have tiny hairs called bristles. Earthworms have ringed segments. They have a saddle where it lays its eggs. Earthworms have five pairs of hearts. It has no thorax or abdomen