Survivability of the Earthworm Perionyx sansibaricus (Michaelsen) in Soil Contaminated with Aluminium Oxide Nanoparticles
Sheelu Kachhap
Department of Education, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj (Allahabad) 211002, Uttar Pradesh, India and Department of Education, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj (Allahabad) 211002, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Samir Kumar Mandal *
University Department of Zoology, Ranchi University, Ranchi-834008, Jharkhand, India.
Rohit Srivastava
University Department of Zoology, Ranchi University, Ranchi-834008, Jharkhand, India.
Manoranjan Prasad Sinha
University Department of Zoology, Ranchi University, Ranchi-834008, Jharkhand, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study examines the impact of aluminium oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) on the survivability of earthworm Perionyx sansibaricus (Michaelsen). Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the survival of P. sansibaricus at five different concentrations of Al2O3 NPs (50 mg kg⁻¹, 100 mg kg⁻¹, 300 mg kg⁻¹, 650 mg kg⁻¹, and 1000 mg kg⁻¹) over varying treatment durations (7 days, 14 days, 21 days, 28 days, and 52 days). Our study found that the survival rate of earthworms was 100% in the control group and at the low concentration (50 mg kg⁻¹) treatment. However, mortality increased significantly as the concentration of Al2O3 NPs increased. The average survivability at the doses of 100, 300, 650, and 1000 mg kg⁻¹ of Al2O3 NPs was 88.8%, 76.2%, 64.8%, and 53.2%, respectively. Notably, there was no significant difference in earthworm mortality across the different treatment durations.
Keywords: Earthworm perionyx sansibaricus, aluminium oxide nanoparticles, survivability