Coprophilous streptomycetes and fungi--food sources for enchytraeid worms (Enchytraeidae).

Food selection experiments demonstrated that Enchytraeus crypticus (Oligochaeta, Enchytraeidae) was attracted by Streptomyces species and microscopic fungi in vermiculture substrates and in the gut content of Eisenia andrei earthworms. Consumption of spores and/or mycelia of attractive strains influenced markedly the proliferation of E. crypticus. There was a 74-fold increase in the numbers of enchytraeids fed on the mixture of Aspergillus flavus and Verticillium tenerum mycelia or on mycelium of one strain of Streptomyces in reproduction tests. Lower rates of increase of E. crypticus (50-fold or less) were observed in variants where V. tenerum or mixtures of fungi and streptomycetes were offered as food. We showed a potential importance of microbial populations in vermicultures and indicated that their regulation may provide a way to increase the productivity of such systems.