Азиатские прыгающие черви угрожают экосистемам Онтарио, распространяясь через торговлю растениями

A new species of earthworm is threatening Ontario soils. “Jumping worms represent a second wave of invasion,” said Mike McTavish, conservation scientist with rare Charitable Research Reserve, adding most earthworms in North America are not native species. The Asian jumping worm is moving into regions like Ontario through horticultural trade, McTavish said. Tropical plants are a primary point of entry, allowing the worms to get into gardens. From there, risk spreads into natural areas, like parks and wetlands. Jumping worms get their name from their predator avoidance behaviour. “No worms really want to be eaten by a bird and they’ll sort of struggle to try and get away, but jumping worms have a particularly energetic sort of twitch,” McTavish said. The “jumping” in its name comes from the thrashing movements, which are pretty effective, he said. How are the worms harmful? While European earthworms are typically a welcome sight, indicating a healthy soil, jumping worms can turn it into something that doesn’t support the vegetation that normally lives there, McTavish said. Earthworms help process organic matter back into the soil, which can help plants absorb nutrients. This is helpful, but worms can process the matter faster than native plants are used to. “If you’re freeing up lots of nutrients through this decomposition that the worms are doing, but the plants aren’t able to take up those nutrients … those nutrients can either be lost or they can go into other things like invasive plants that are able to take advantage of them,” McTavish said. Breaking the matter down quickly also leaves the soil exposed, meaning it can dry out, leaving it vulnerable to future invasion, he added. Jumping worms pose these risks at a higher level due to their, size and numbers. The higher biomass from having these worms in the soil can amplify the effects. The jumping worms also focus on the top 10 centimetres of soil, McTavish said. “This is a really important layer in terms of where plants do a lot of their rooting, where they acquire a lot of their moisture and nutrients.” How long have the worms been around? Jumping worms are new to Ontario, with the most substantive records dating only to 2021. McTavish said some gardeners in Toronto approached his lab about worms that were behaving differently. “It was that summer that we got the first confirmed records of a larger number of different jumping worms that people were finding in their gardens,” he said. There have been about 70 confirmed reports of jumping worms across Ontario, with one in Waterloo Region, three in Wellington County and 15 in Hamilton. While the worms have only recently started to show up in Ontario gardens, they have been in North America for longer. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they have been present in the U.S. since the late 1800s, but have been recently invading natural habitats in the Northeast and Midwest. Most worms typically shift their habitat by only a few metres per year, meaning human activity is the main driver for worms moving long distances. “A lot of this is driven by patterns of trade,” McTavish said. He explained jumping worms are very temperature limited; if it is too cold, the worms are unable to complete their life cycles. “But, of course, things have been getting warmer and the suitable habitat that is available to them from a temperature perspective is growing,” he said. “We only expect to see further shifts north as things continue to warm.” Monitoring the worms With the worms being a new invasive species, rare is working to understand the impact of the jumping worm and limit its effects. “This is still very early and we really need to learn more about where they are and how quickly they move around,” McTavish said. “We’re not going to get rid of them.” He added there is a “certain inevitability” to dealing with this species, which makes it even more important to understand the impact on ecosystems. “We’re not going to get rid of them,” he said. To understand where the jumping worms are appearing and their impact, rare is conducting a study based on reports of the worms. Through eddmaps.org, residents can submit photos and videos of the suspicious worm and its casts. The submissions will be verified by McTavish and rare. The casts of jumping worms are fairly distinct. They are large and tend to look like dried coffee grounds or ground beef. “That’s also a sort of sign and symptom in and of itself,” he said. Videos are particularly helpful, as the jumping behaviour is “fairly diagnostic,” McTavish said. Once a sighting is confirmed, a small invasion can be eradicated through sterilizing the soil or disposing of it. If it is a larger invasion, containment becomes a priority to limit spread through cleaning tools and footwear to ensure the cocoons are not being moved to new locations. The community’s engagement has been crucial to knowing where these worms are, McTavish said. “Community engagement with science and stewardship and conservation is really what makes this all work,” he said. “That sort of home community stewardship really goes a long way.” Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.