DSC studies of freezing in terrestrial enchytraeids (Annelida: oligochaeta)

Specimens of six enchytraeid species from a wide range of terrestrial habitats were cooled to -25 degree C and rewarmed at 1 degree C/min and their cryobiological features measured by DSC. All were freezing intolerant, supercooling on average to c.-9 degree C. The quantity of frozen (osmotically active) water, calculated from the melt endotherm, varied considerably from 17 to 62% depending on the species and formed three groups. It is suggested that variation in the amount of water frozen in the worms reflects the acclimatisation of these species to the environmental conditions of their habitats.