Abstract
In view of the global importance of wetlands in providing food and income for millions of people through agricultural activities, efforts should be geared toward identifying appropriate biomonitoring organisms for them. This study investigated the mortality and burrowing responses of Libyodrilus violaceus earthworm to heavy metals in the laboratory. The worms were subjected to heavy metal spiked soil in graded concentrations following the procedure recommended by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for a period of 14 days. Zn had the highest significant mean lethal effect (6.35±4.04) on this species, followed by the mixtures of Zn, Cd (5.90±5.05); Zn, Pb, Cd (5.40±4.5); Zn, Pb (5.05±4.37), in that order. The median lethal concentration (LC 50) values for zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) obtained from the study stood at 520.06, 1551.55, and 706.66 mg/kg soil respectively. The species also showed inhibited burrowing responses to these metals in individual and combined concentrations. It is concluded that L. violaceus should be a candidate for con-sideration in assessing the health of wetland soils.
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