Surviving the summer as the climate changes: investigating drivers and costs of aestivation in earthworms

Climate change has resulted in an increase in extreme weather
including the frequency of drought events.
Earthworms are "ecosystem engineers" that help to aerate the
soil, improve water retention and circulate nutrients through their
burrowing activity. One strategy that some earthworm species
deploy for surviving periods of drought is aestivation, in which
the earthworm curls up into a ball and maintains a low level of
metabolic activity until conditions are favourable. Following
drought, earthworms show increased feeding, which suggests

Project outline

that aestivation is energy demanding. The precise conditions
that initiate aestivation, how frequently and for how long an
earthworm can aestivate, and how costly this process is are all
unknown
With increased likelihood of droughts, aestivation may become
a less effective way for earthworms to survive inhospitable
conditions that not only reduce their abundance and diversity
but are likely to have an impact on soil quality and productivity.