{"id":318,"date":"2013-09-25T14:34:17","date_gmt":"2013-09-25T14:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/daphnia.ecology.uga.edu\/drakelab\/?p=318"},"modified":"2014-02-07T22:20:35","modified_gmt":"2014-02-07T22:20:35","slug":"invasive-earthworms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daphnia.ecology.uga.edu\/drakelab\/?p=318","title":{"rendered":"Invasive earthworms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Above An example of Lumbricus terrestris<\/span>, which is invasive in the United States<\/em><\/p>\n

The presence of non-native earthworms within the United States has long been recognized, but has received little attention until relatively recently.\u00a0 During the last decade, considerable research has focused on documenting the effects of non-native earthworms.\u00a0 These studies indicate that non-native earthworms can alter soil structure, organic matter content, nutrient dynamics, and plant and animal communities.\u00a0 While it is clear that many non-native earthworm species are widespread and abundant within the United States, their distributions are still poorly known.\u00a0 The aim of this project was to map the range of non-native earthworm species to better understand their distribution and to identify environmental and anthropogenic factors that might enhance or constrain their spread.\u00a0 In addition, this information could be used to identify areas that may be vulnerable to further invasion by non-native earthworm species or more vulnerable to their effects due to sensitive environmental characteristics.\u00a0 As a result of this project, historical distributions of native species were also delineated and with further study one could determine if their ranges have remained stable, expanded or contracted possibly as a result of land use changes or competition from these non-native species.<\/p>\n

Methods<\/em>
\nFirst we compiled county level collection records for all species of earthworms known to occur in the United States.\u00a0 Sources used included literature records as well as museum collection data.\u00a0 In all we compiled 12880 records on 129 species of earthworm from all 50 states.\u00a0 Of these 129 species, 46 were non-native.\u00a0 We then used GIS software to create distributional maps for each species from these collection records (Figure 1).\u00a0 All records were mapped on the county level.\u00a0 Despite the widespread coverage, most states were represented with few records.\u00a0 Coverage was generally greater among the eastern states and least among the Great Plains and west.\u00a0 Additional sources are available which when entered will help fill in some of the gaps in our coverage.<\/p>\n

Related publications:<\/strong><\/p>\n