Effect of lead on survival, locomotion and sperm morphology of Asian earthworm, Pheretima guillelmi.

To provide basic toxicity data for formulating risk characterization benchmarks, the effects of lead on survival, locomotion, and sperm morphology were investigated in the Asian earthworm Pheretima guillelmi. The LC50 of P. guillelmi for 7 and 14 d were 4285 +/- 339 mg/kg and 3207 +/- 248 mg/kg, which shows P. guillelmi can tolerate a higher concentration of lead nitrate. The average weight of the surviving earthworms decreased at concentration of 2800 mg Pb/kg soil, and the locomotor ability of earthworms exposed to a range of soil Pb concentrations showed a general decrease with increasing Pb concentrations. We also presented data depicting the sperm morphology of earthworms, which shows potential as a sensitive biomarker for measuring the effects of heavy metal on reproduction.