Bioturbation
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Bioturbation is defined as the reworking of soils and sediments by animals or plants. It includes burrowing, ingestion, and defecation of sediment grains. Bioturbating activities have a profound effec
Sediment on the left tusk of a walrus. Walrus bioturbations in Arctic benthic sediments have large-scale ecosystem effects.
The lugworm Arenicola marina
Gobies keeping watch outside a shrimp burrow
Pocket gopher mounds
The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits is an 1881 book by Charles Darwin on earthworms. It was his last scientific book, and was published shor
Bioturbation
…Bioturbation's importance for soil processes and geomorphology was first realized by Charles Darwin, who devoted his last scientific book to the subject (The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms). Darwin spread chalk dust over a field to observe changes in the depth of the chalk layer over time. Excavations 30 years after the initial deposit…
Piles of worm castings atop existing soil in a garden
His research included a railway trip to Stonehenge
A photograph of Darwin around the time the book was published
Earthworms mate in daylight, but are generally nocturnal above ground.