burrowing assay distance abnormal burrowing assay distance reduced Animals exhibit a reduction, compared to control, in the distance traveled in a burrowing assay, in which animals are placed in a tube, separated from an attractant by solid medium through which the worms can burrow. Reductions in distance traveled during the burrowing assay, when controlled for chemosensation defects, have been suggested to reflect deficits in neuromuscular efficacy of locomotion. C_elegans_phenotype_ontology WBPhenotype:0002517