Assessing feeding activities of soil-living animals. I. Bait-lamina-tests.

A new test for screening indefinite feeding activities of soil-living animals is described. This method is characterized by exposure of thin laminae of an artificial bait substrate to animals' feeding activities. Thin, narrow perforated plastic strips served as support for bait-laminae. The strips, each bearing a row of (usually) 16 lamellae (5 mm apart), were inserted as a group of 16 strips into the soil or soil cover (in rows or in a grid of ca. 40 cm×60 cm). (…)