The second wave of earthworm invasions in North America: biology, environmental impacts, management and control of invasive jumping worms

Abstract

The invasion of jumping worms, a small group of pheretimoid earthworm species from Asia, has increasingly become an ecological, environmental and conservation issue in forest ecosystems and urban-suburban landscapes around the world. Their presence is often noticed due to their high abundance, distinctive “jumping” behavior, and prominent granular casts on the soil surface. Although they are known to affect soil carbon dynamics and nutrient availability, no single paper has summarized their profound impacts on soil biodiversity, plant community, and animals of all trophic groups that rely on soil and the leaf litter layer for habitat, food, and shelter. In this study, we summarize the biology, invasion, and ecological impacts of invasive jumping worms across North America. We highlight potential impacts of this second wave of earthworm invasion, contrast them with the preceding European earthworm invasion in temperate forests in North America, and identify annual life cycle, reproductive and cocoon survival strategies, casting behavior and co-invasion dynamics as the key factors that contribute to their successful invasion and distinct ecological impacts. We then suggest potential management and control strategies for practitioners and policy makers, underscore the importance of coordinated community science projects in tracking the spread, and identify knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to understand and control the invasion.