Abstract
The British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) began and ended his almost 45-year-long career with observations, experiments, and theories related to earthworms. About six months before his death, Darwin published his book onThe Formation of Vegetable Mould,through the Actions of Worms,With Observations on their Habits(1881). Here we describe the origin, content, and impact of Darwin's last publication on earthworms (subclass Oligochaeta, family Lumbricidae) and the role of these annelids as global “ecosystem reworkers” (concept of bioturbation). In addition, we summarize our current knowledge on the reproductive behaviour of the common European speciesLumbricus terrestris. In the second part of our account we describe the biology and evolution of the giant endemic speciesL. badensisfrom south western Germany with reference to the principle of niche construction. Biogeographic studies have shown that the last common ancestor ofL. badensis, and the much smaller sister-taxon, the Atlantic-MediterraneanL. friendi, lived less than 10 000 years ago. Allopatric speciation occurred via geographically isolated founder populations that were separated by the river Rhine so that today two earthworm species exist in different areas.
Highlights
In his Autobiography, Charles Darwin (1809–1882) briefly commented on his last major publication in the following words: “I have (May 1, 1881) sent to the printers the MS. of a little book on The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Actions of Worms
We review the history and current status of Darwin’s “earthworm research-agenda” (Figures 1 and 2), summarize the significance of his classical monograph [2] with respect to modern soil biology, and describe the ecology and biogeography of a rare, endemic species, Lumbricus badensis
In 1837, one year after his return from the voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwin started his career as an independent scientist with observations and a subsequent speech on earthworms that was published in 1838 [4]
Summary
In his Autobiography, Charles Darwin (1809–1882) briefly commented on his last major publication in the following words: “I have (May 1, 1881) sent to the printers the MS. of a little book on The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Actions of Worms. Darwin first indicated the importance of earthworms in a lecture “On the formation of mould” to the Geological Society of London on 1 November 1837 This was published in the following year [4] and does not appear to have had a great impact on his colleagues [5]. The terms “vegetable mould” or “plant earth” were used by the Victorians to refer to what is called today “humus-rich topsoil” or the “A horizon” (Figure 3) or “mollic epipedon” It was his 1881 book [2] that had the greatest impact on those who had often regarded earthworms as pests that disfigured well-manicured Victorian lawns with their casts. It should be noted that Darwin’s book on earthworms became neglected by the earth sciences, it has continued to be quoted in zoological texts [10,11,12]
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