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Advances in Sustainable Development pp 1–14Cite as

Social Behavior of Earthworms in the Context of Their Use in Bioremediation

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Abstract

The role of earthworms as one of three most influential classes of scavengers and soil processors in nature—the other two being ants and termites—is well known. But whereas ants and termites are strongly eusocial and hierarchical, with no one except the queen being capable of pro-creation, majority of adult earthworms have fecundity. This makes it possible to use them in captivity. As a result, earthworms have come on center stage as processors of animal manure, plant biomass, and other biodegradable solid/semi-solid waste into organic fertilizer. This chapter explores the sociobiology of earthworms. Its main focus is on identifying those traits which can prove helpful in enhancing the utility of earthworms in bioremediation.

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Acknowledgements

SAA thanks Indian National Science Academy (INSA), New Delhi and T-A thanks the authorities of UPES, Dehradun, for support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Pollution Control and Environmental Engineering, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India

    Pratiksha Patnaik, Dilkesh Ghazala, S. A. Abbasi & Tasneem Abbasi

  2. School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Bidholi, Dehradun, 248007, India

    Tabassum-Abbasi

Authors
  1. Pratiksha Patnaik
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  2. Dilkesh Ghazala
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  3. S. A. Abbasi
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  4. Tabassum-Abbasi
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  5. Tasneem Abbasi
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. HSE and Civil Engineering Department, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

    N. A. Siddiqui

  2. HSE and Civil Engineering Department, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

    S. M. Tauseef

  3. Centre of Pollution Control and Environmental Engineering, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India

    S. A. Abbasi

  4. Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

    Rajendra Dobhal

  5. Environment Engineer, Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board, Dehradun, India

    Ankur Kansal

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Patnaik, P., Ghazala, D., Abbasi, S.A., Tabassum-Abbasi, Abbasi, T. (2022). Social Behavior of Earthworms in the Context of Their Use in Bioremediation. In: Siddiqui, N.A., Tauseef, S.M., Abbasi, S.A., Dobhal, R., Kansal, A. (eds) Advances in Sustainable Development. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4400-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4400-9_1

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