How do worms do it

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ali000

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it always amazes me how long worms can live under water. I've found them still wriggling under rocks days after putting them in. How do they do it? How long can you expect them to be able to live for under water?
 
Re: how do worms do it

My mind-reading abilities tell me you are talking about earthworms, right? (Just kidding.)

I've noticed that a worm can live a couple of days but I don't think that they can last much longer than that. They also have the annoying habit of burrowing down underneath the gravel before dying.
 
Re: how do worms do it

G'day Ali,

I can't really comment on the physiology of the common earthworm, but I did manage to find the follwing link:

http://www.infovisual.info/02/006_en.html

Just by looking at this diagram, you can see the the earthworm does not have a specific organ for respiration. So I'm assuming that the majority of the gas exchange (i.e. carbon dioxide for oxygen) occurs across the earthworms body- similar to the axolotl. I guess, this also explains why they can spend such a long time under water. I don't know how long, though. Perhaps somebody else will be able to answer that question for you. Oh, and google always has the answer(s) ;)

Jay.
 
Re: how do worms do it

:eek: yes, earthworms...sorry:eek:

Thats a really interesting link, thanks Jay (never thought i'd be interested in the physiology of worms!) just had a quick google and couldn't find anything concrete, some say they can survive for several weeks if the water is oxygenated. I shall continue to look:D
 
Re: how do worms do it

If they can live so long underwater, why do they drown all the time in the rain?
 
Re: how do worms do it

Aerobic bacteria consume the vast majority of O2 from waterlogged soil (bacteria being far more prolific in soil than in water bodies), leaving little for the worms relatively inefficient system to absorb. COmbined with oils and grease from urban runoff, worms in soils that are impacted by human activities have little capability to "breath" and are thus asphyxiated. Sad, but true.
 
Re: how do worms do it

Hello Dawn,

why do they drown all the time in the rain?
Click to expand...

I'm thinking it's because of the troposphere. The troposphere consists of mainly nitrogen(g) and oxygen(g). However, other constituents include: sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons. Rainwater reacts with all these gases and pollutants, making it naturally acidic. The worm most likely dies/drowns as result of asphyxiation.

Jay.
 
Re: how do worms do it

I suspect they don't 'drown' at all, but suffer from an osmoregulation issue. That is, there's so much water, and worms don't naturally osmoregulate, so their cells absorb vast amounts of water in order to be isotonic with the surrounding water.

If it was acid precipitation, they would die whenever there was any rain, regardless of amount.
 
Re: how do worms do it

I've noticed that different types of worms can live in water for different lengths of time. The big gray nightcrawlers can't last more than a day. Belgian nightcrawlers (Dendobaena) can live for weeks under water.
 
Re: how do worms do it

not sure what we have in our garden... common British worm I expect, but they can live for at least 3 days.
 
Re: how do worms do it

ive lost worms in gravel of my frog tank only to find them months, yes MONTHS, later when i do a complete cleaning of the tank and spray down the gravel. i never understood how they manage to do that but its not something they all share, some individual, naturally, manage to stay underwater for longer periods of time than others.
 
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