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Mathieu J, Reynolds JW, Fragoso C, Hadly E. Multiple invasion routes have led to the pervasive introduction of earthworms in North America. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:489-499. [PMID: 38332024 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02310-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Soil-dwelling organisms play a key role in ecosystem functioning and the delivery of ecosystem services. As a consequence, soil taxa such as earthworms are iconic in good land management practices. However, their introduction in places where species did not co-evolve with them can trigger catastrophic changes. This issue has been largely ignored so far in nature management policies because of the positive image of soil taxa and the lack of knowledge of the magnitude of soil fauna introductions outside their native range. Here we address this gap with a large spatio-temporal database of introduced alien earthworms. We show that 70 alien earthworm species have colonized the North American continent. They have larger geographical ranges than native species and novel ecological functions, representing a serious threat to the biodiversity and functioning of native ecosystems. The probably continuous introduction of alien earthworms, from a variety of sources and introduction pathways, into many distant and often empty niches, contrasts with the classical patterns of invasions in most aboveground taxa. This suggests that earthworms, and probably other soil organisms, constitute a major but overlooked pool of invasive species that are not adequately managed by existing control and mitigation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jérôme Mathieu
- Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UPEC, INRAE, IRD, Paris, France.
| | - John W Reynolds
- Oligochaetology Laboratory, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Carlos Fragoso
- Red de Biodiversidad y Sistemática, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Mexico
| | - Elizabeth Hadly
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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Mussini G, Dunn FS. Decline and fall of the Ediacarans: late-Neoproterozoic extinctions and the rise of the modern biosphere. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:110-130. [PMID: 37667585 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
The end-Neoproterozoic transition marked a gradual but permanent shift between distinct configurations of Earth's biosphere. This interval witnessed the demise of the enigmatic Ediacaran Biota, ushering in the structured trophic webs and disparate animal body plans of Phanerozoic ecosystems. However, little consensus exists on the reality, drivers, and macroevolutionary implications of end-Neoproterozoic extinctions. Here we evaluate potential drivers of late-Neoproterozoic turnover by addressing recent findings on Ediacaran geochronology, the persistence of classical Ediacaran macrobionts into the Cambrian, and the existence of Ediacaran crown-group eumetazoans. Despite renewed interest in the possibility of Phanerozoic-style 'mass extinctions' in the latest Neoproterozoic, our synthesis of the available evidence does not support extinction models based on episodic geochemical triggers, nor does it validate simple ecological interpretations centred on direct competitive displacement. Instead, we argue that the protracted and indirect effects of early bilaterian innovations, including escalations in sediment engineering, predation, and the largely understudied impacts of reef-building, may best account for the temporal structure and possible selectivity of late-Neoproterozoic extinctions. We integrate these processes into a generalised model of early eumetazoan-dominated ecologies, charting the disruption of spatial and temporal isotropy on the Ediacaran benthos as a consequence of diversifying macrofaunal interactions. Given the nature of resource distribution in Ediacaran ecologies, the continuities among Ediacaran and Cambrian faunas, and the convergent origins of ecologically disruptive innovations among bilaterians we suggest that the rise of Phanerozoic-type biotas may have been unstoppable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Mussini
- Department of Earth Sciences, Downing Street, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EQ, UK
| | - Frances S Dunn
- Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PW, UK
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Klaminder J, Krab EJ, Larsbo M, Jonsson H, Fransson J, Koestel J. Holes in the tundra: Invasive earthworms alter soil structure and moisture in tundra soils. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 859:160125. [PMID: 36379337 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Human introductions have resulted in earthworms establishing in the Arctic, species known to cause cascading ecosystem change. However, few quantitative outdoor experiments have been performed that describe how these soil modifying earthworms are reshaping structures in tundra soils. In this study, we used three-dimensional (3-D) X-ray images of soil cores (approximately 10 cm diameter, 20 cm height, N = 48) to assess how earthworms (Aporrectodea sp. and Lumbricus sp.) affect soil structure and macropore networks in an outdoor mesocosm experiment that lasted four summers. Effects were assessed in both shrub-dominated (heath) and herb-dominated (meadow) tundra. Earthworms almost doubled the macroporosity in meadow soils and tripled macroporosity in heath. Interestingly, the fractal dimension of macropores decreased in response to earthworm burrowing in both systems, indicating that the presence of earthworms reduced the geometric complexity in comparison to other pore-generating processes active in the tundra. Observed effects on soil structure occurred along with a dramatically reduced soil moisture content, which was observed the first winter after earthworm introduction in the meadow. Our findings suggest that predictions of future changes in vegetation and soil carbon pools in the Arctic should include major impacts on soil properties that earthworms induce.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Klaminder
- Climate Impacts Research Centre, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-98107 Abisko, Sweden.
| | - E J Krab
- Climate Impacts Research Centre, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-98107 Abisko, Sweden; Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lennart Hjelms väg 9, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - M Larsbo
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lennart Hjelms väg 9, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - H Jonsson
- Climate Impacts Research Centre, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-98107 Abisko, Sweden
| | - J Fransson
- Climate Impacts Research Centre, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-98107 Abisko, Sweden
| | - J Koestel
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lennart Hjelms väg 9, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden; Soil quality and Soil Use, Agroscope, Reckenholzstr. 191, 8046 Zürich, Switzerland
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Malyutina Y, Wilson GWT, Duell EB, Loss SR. Effects of native and non-native earthworms on grassland plant communities and abundance of associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Biol Invasions 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-022-02926-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Chang CH, Bartz MLC, Brown G, Callaham MA, Cameron EK, Dávalos A, Dobson A, Görres JH, Herrick BM, Ikeda H, James SW, Johnston MR, McCay TS, McHugh D, Minamiya Y, Nouri-Aiin M, Novo M, Ortiz-Pachar J, Pinder RA, Ransom T, Richardson JB, Snyder BA, Szlavecz K. The second wave of earthworm invasions in North America: biology, environmental impacts, management and control of invasive jumping worms. Biol Invasions 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-021-02598-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Abstract
Non-native earthworms can cause abrupt changes in forest ecosystems by altering soil properties and depleting or redistributing soil carbon (C) stocks. The forests of Northern Maine are often perceived as having winters that are too harsh to support earthworm populations and that earthworms are restricted to more southerly regions. In this study, we report the discovery of European earthworms at two research sites in Northern Maine. At one site, earthworms were only found across a portion of the forest, and the median organic (O) horizon C stock in the area with earthworms was 34% less than that of areas without earthworms. At a second site, earthworms were found across the entire 60-ha forest and the median O horizon C stock was 39% less than that of a similar forest without earthworms. Consistent with reports from other regions, areas with earthworms had no or minimal eluvial (E) horizons, while earthworm-free locations always had E horizons. Earthworm presence was always associated with a topsoil (A) horizon, reflecting mechanical mixing and organic matter processing by earthworms. This is one of the first reports of non-native earthworm presence in Northern Maine forests and monitoring changes in soil C will be important for determining rates of C sequestration in these forests. Warmer winter temperatures, particularly winter minimums, and greater annual precipitation will likely increase the success of new earthworm introductions across Northern Maine forests. Management actions that limit the transport of earthworms into earthworm-free areas should be carefully evaluated to minimize the potential for new introductions.
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Do invasive jumping worms impact sugar maple (Acer saccharum) water-use dynamics in a Central Hardwoods forest? Biol Invasions 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-020-02360-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Frelich LE, Blossey B, Cameron EK, Dávalos A, Eisenhauer N, Fahey T, Ferlian O, Groffman PM, Larson E, Loss SR, Maerz JC, Nuzzo V, Yoo K, Reich PB. Side-swiped: Ecological cascades emanating from earthworm invasion. FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT 2019; 17:502-510. [PMID: 31908623 PMCID: PMC6944502 DOI: 10.1002/fee.2099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Non-native, invasive earthworms are altering soils throughout the world. Ecological cascades emanating from these changes stem from earthworm-caused changes in detritus processing occurring at a mid-point in the trophic pyramid, rather than the more familiar bottom-up or top-down cascades. They include fundamental changes (microcascades) in soil morphology, bulk density, nutrient leaching, and a shift to warmer, drier soil surfaces with loss of organic horizons. In North American temperate and boreal forests, microcascades cause effects of concern to society (macrocascades), including changes in CO2 sequestration, disturbance regimes, soil quality, water quality, forest productivity, plant communities, and wildlife habitat, and facilitation of other invasive species. Interactions among these changes create cascade complexes that interact with climate change and other environmental changes. The diversity of cascade effects, combined with the vast area invaded by earthworms, lead to regionally important changes in ecological functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee E Frelich
- University of Minnesota, Department of Forest Resources, 1530 Cleveland Ave. N., St. Paul, MN
| | - Bernd Blossey
- Department of Natural Resources, Fernow Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
| | - Erin K Cameron
- Global Change and Conservation Group, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Environmental Science, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Andrea Dávalos
- Department of Natural Resources, Fernow Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- SUNY Cortland, Department of Biological Sciences, Bowers Hall, Cortland, NY
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Timothy Fahey
- Department of Natural Resources, Fernow Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
| | - Olga Ferlian
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Peter M Groffman
- Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, and Brooklyn College Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, City University of New York, New York, NY
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY
| | - Evan Larson
- University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Department of Geography, 1 University Plaza, Platteville, WI
| | - Scott R Loss
- Oklahoma State University, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 008C Ag Hall, Stillwater, OK
| | - John C Maerz
- Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 East Green Street, Athens, GA
| | - Victoria Nuzzo
- Natural Area Consultants, 1 West Hill School Road, Richford NY
| | - Kyungsoo Yoo
- University of Minnesota, Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, St. Paul, MN
| | - Peter B Reich
- University of Minnesota, Department of Forest Resources, 1530 Cleveland Ave. N., St. Paul, MN
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Richmond, NSW, Australia
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Tracking an invasion: community changes in hardwood forests following the arrival of Amynthas agrestis and Amynthas tokioensis in Wisconsin. Biol Invasions 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-017-1653-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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