Publications
Our team members and their collaborators regularly publish scientific reports of their latest findings. This list includes their primary literature on jumping worms. We will update this regularly as new evidence emerges, and provide useful distillations of the work in our resources sections.
Some, but not all of these are available online. If you would like a study that is not open-access or posted online, please reach out and we will be delighted to send you a PDF.
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Jumping worms are the second wave of earthworm invaders into the North American forested and horticultural ecosystems. They are currently aggressively expanding their range and are regarded as a serious threat to forest in their new range.
The second wave of earthworm invasions in North America: Biology, environmental impacts, management and control of invasive jumping worms
Chang, C.-H., Bartz, M.L.C., Brown, G., Callaham Jr, M.A., Cameron, E. K., Dávalos, A., Dobson A., Görres, J.H., Herrick, B.M., Ikeda, H., James, S.W., Johnston, M.R., McCay, T.S., McHugh, D., Minamiya, Y.M., Nouri-Aiin, M.,. Novo, M., Ortiz-Pachar, J., Pinder, R.A, Ransom, T., Richardson, J.B., Snyder, B.A., and Szlavecz, K., 2021. Biological Invasions, pp. 3291-3322.Tools for monitoring and study of peregrine pheretimoid earthworms (Megascolecidae)
McCay, T.S., Brown, G., Callaham Jr, M.A., Chang, C.-H., Dávalos, A., Dobson, A., Görres, J.H., Herrick, B.M., James, S.W., Johnston, M.R., McHugh, D., Minteer, T., Moore, J.-D., Nouri-Aiin, M., Novo, M., Ortiz-Pachar, J., Pinder, R.A., Richardson, J.B., Snyder, B.A., and Szlavecz, K., 2020. Pedobiologia, 83, p.150669.Global distribution of earthworm diversity
Phillips, H.R., Guerra, C.A., Bartz, M.L.C., Briones, M.J.I., Brown, G., Crowther, T.W., Ferlian, O., Gongalsky, K.B., Van Den Hoogen, […] Eisenhauer, N., 2019. Science, 366(6464), pp.480-485. -
Earthworms are ecosystem engineers. As such they have the capacity to change the soils they invade with serious impacts on the ecosystems involved.
Individual and combined effects of non‐native earthworms and native white‐tailed deer on understorey plant survival, growth and reproduction
Dobson, A., Bowe, A., Nuzzo, V., Dávalos, A., Fahey, T. and Blossey, B., 2024. Journal of Ecology, 112(5), pp.1039-1057.Earthworm co-invasion by Amynthas tokioensis and Amynthas agrestis affects soil microaggregate bacterial communities
West, J.R., Herrick, B.M. and Whitman, T., 2024. Applied Soil Ecology, 195, p.105224.The distribution and establishment of non-native earthworm populations and their impact on organic layer thickness in the Acadian Forest
Buchkowski, R.W., Cameron, E.K., Kurz, W.A. and Laganière, J., 2024. Applied Soil Ecology, 198, p.105353.Global changes and their environmental stressors have a significant impact on soil biodiversity — A meta-analysis
Phillips, H.R.P., Cameron, E.K., Eisenhauer, N., Burton, V.J., Ferlian, O., Jin, Y., Kanabar, S., Malladi, S., Murphy, R.E., Peter, A., Petrocelli, I., Ristok, C., Tyndall, K., van der Putten, W. and Beaumelle, L., 2024. iScience 27(9), 110540.Effects of invasive jumping worms (Amynthas spp.) on microhabitat and trophic interactions of native herpetofauna
Crone, E.R., Sauer, E.L., Herrick, B.M., Drake, D. and Preston, D.L., 2022. Biological Invasions, 24(8), pp.2499-2512.Do the invasive earthworms Amynthas agrestis (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) and Lumbricus rubellus (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae) stimulate oxalate-based browser defenses in jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) by their presence or their soil biogeochemical activity?
Melnichuk, R.D., Tecimen, H.B. and Görres, J.H., 2022. Soil Systems, 6(1), p.11.Impacts of invasive earthworms and deer on native ferns in forests of northeastern North America
Bowe, A., Dobson, A. and Blossey, B., 2020. Biological Invasions, 22(4), pp.1431-1445.Effects of earthworms and white-tailed deer on roots, arbuscular mycorrhizae, and forest seedling performance
Dobson, A., Richardson, J. and Blossey, B., 2020. Ecology, 101, p.e02903.Side‐swiped: Ecological cascades emanating from earthworm invasions
Frelich, L.E., Blossey, B., Cameron, E.K., Dávalos, A., Eisenhauer, N., Fahey, T., Ferlian, O., Groffman, P.M., Larson, E., Loss, S.R., Maerz, J.C., Nuzzo, V., Yoo, K. and Reich, P.B., 2019. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 17(9), pp.502-510.Invasive lumbricid earthworms in northeastern North American forests and consequences for leaf-litter fauna
McCay, T.S. and Scull, P., 2019. Biological Invasions, 21(6), pp.2081-2093.The unseen invaders: Introduced earthworms as drivers of change in plant communities in North American forests (a meta‐analysis)
Craven, D., Thakur, M.P., Cameron, E.K., Frelich, L.E., Beauséjour, R., Blair, R.B., Blossey, B., Burtis, J., Choi, A., Dávalos, A., Fahey, T.J., Fisichelli, N.A., Gibson K., Handa, I.T., Hopfensperger, K., Loss, S.R. Nuzzo, V, Maerz, J.C. Sackett, T. Scharenbroch, B.C., Smith, S.M., Vellend, M., Umek, L.G. and Eisenhauer, N., 2017. Global Change Biology, 23(3), pp.1065-1074.Earthworm databases and ecological theory: Synthesis of current initiatives and main research directions
Cameron, E.K., Decaëns, T., Lapied, E., Porco, D. and Eisenhauer, N., 2016. Applied Soil Ecology, 104, pp.85-90.Interactive effects of deer, earthworms and non-native plants on rare forest plant recruitment
Dávalos, A., Nuzzo, V. and Blossey, B., 2015. Biological Conservation, 187, pp.173-181.Single and interactive effects of deer and earthworms on non-native plants
Dávalos, A., Nuzzo, V. and Blossey, B., 2015. Forest Ecology and Management, 351, pp. 28-35.Non-consumptive effects of native deer on introduced earthworm abundance
Dávalos, A., Simpson, E., Nuzzo, V. and Blossey, B., 2015. Ecosystems, 18(6), pp.1029-1042.Earthworm invasion, white-tailed deer and seedling establishment in deciduous forests of north-eastern North America
Dobson, A. and Blossey, B., 2015. Journal of Ecology, 103: 153–164.Invasive earthworms shape forest seed bank composition
Nuzzo, V., Dávalos, A. and Blossey, B., 2015. Diversity and Distributions, 21(5), pp.560-570.Influence of two exotic earthworm species with different foraging strategies on abundance and composition of boreal microarthropods
Cameron, E.K., Knysh, K.M., Proctor, H.C. and Bayne, E.M., 2013. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 57, pp.334-340.Non-native earthworm influences on ectomycorrhizal colonization and growth of white spruce
Cameron, E.K., Zabrodski, M.W., Karst, J. and Bayne, E.M., 2012. Ecoscience, 19(1), pp.29-37.Invasion by a non‐native ecosystem engineer alters distribution of a native predator
Cameron, E.K. and Bayne, E.M., 2012. Diversity and Distributions, 18(12), pp.1190-1198.An experimental test of facilitation between non-native earthworms
Cameron, E.K. and Bayne, E.M., 2011. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 89(12), pp.1223-1230. -
Some earthworm species, so called cosmopolitan species, have global distributions. Earthworms do not move very far under their own steam, but movement with humans and with water has accelerated their spread across and within continents, including arctic ecosystems.
Anthropogenic transport mechanisms of invasive European earthworms: A review
Baumann, T.T., Frelich, L.E., Van Riper, L.C. and Yoo, K., 2024. Biological Invasions, 26(11), pp.3563-3586.Invasive adult jumping worms in Atlantic Canada are chill-susceptible
Adams, V.E., Chettiar, S.R., Clow, T.M., Gendron, E., Gough, A.L., Stewart, B.E., Cameron, E.K. and Toxopeus, J., 2024. bioRxiv, pp.2024-05.Testing the impacts of invasive jumping worms at their northern range limit
Bennett, S., Phillips, H.R., Dalziel, A.C., Manzer, L.R. and Cameron, E.K., 2024. European Journal of Soil Biology, 120, p.103590.Earthworms (Clitellata, Megadrili) of the world: An updated checklist of valid species and families, with notes on their distribution
Misirlioğlu, M., Reynolds, J.W., Stojanović, M., Trakić, T., Sekulić, J., James, S.W., Csuzdi, C., Decaëns, T., Lapied, E., Phillips, H.R.P. Cameron, E.K. and Brown, G.G., 2023. Zootaxa.Human-mediated introduction of geoengineering earthworms in the Fennoscandian arctic
Wackett, A.A., Yoo, K., Olofsson, J. and Klaminder, J., 2018. Biological Invasions, 20, pp.1377-1386.Co-invasion of three Asian earthworms, Metaphire hilgendorfi, Amynthas agrestis and Amynthas tokioensis in the USA
Chang, C.-H., Johnston, M.R., Görres, J.H., Dávalos, A., McHugh, D. and Szlavecz, K., 2018. Biological invasions, 20(4), pp.843-848.Application of lime (CaCO3) to promote forest recovery from severe acidification increases potential for earthworm invasion
Homan, C., Beier, C., McCay, T. and Lawrence, G., 2016. Forest Ecology and Management, 368, pp.39-44.Spatial patterns and spread of exotic earthworms at local scales
Cameron, E.K. and Bayne, E.M., 2015. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 93(9), pp.721-726.Failure of an Amynthas agrestis (Goto & Hatai, 1899) (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) population to expand its range within a sugar maple (Acer saccharum) stand
Görres, J.H., Bellitürk, K. and Keller, E., 2014. Megadrilogica, 17:7-13.Asian invasive earthworms of the Genus Amynthas Kinberg in Vermont
Görres, J.H. and Melnichuk, R.D.S., 2012. Northeastern Naturalist 19:213-322.Influence of soil buffering capacity on earthworm growth, survival, and community composition in the Western Adirondacks and Central New York
Bernard, M.J., Neatrour, M.A. and McCay, T.S., 2009. Northeastern Naturalist, 16(2), pp.269-284.Human-facilitated invasion of exotic earthworms into northern boreal forests
Cameron, E.K., Bayne, E.M. and Clapperton, M.J., 2007. Ecoscience, 14(4), pp.482-490.Road age and its importance in earthworm invasion of northern boreal forests
Cameron, E.K. and Bayne, E.M., 2009. Journal of Applied Ecology, 46(1), pp.28-36.Distribution and habitat of the endemic earthworm Eisenoides lonnbergi (Michaelsen) in the northeastern United States
McCay, T.S., Pinder, R.A., Alvarado, E. and Hanson, W.C., 2017. Northeastern Naturalist, 24(3), pp.239-248.Exotic Asian pheretimoid earthworms (Amynthas spp., Metaphire spp.): Potential for colonisation of south-eastern Canada and effects on forest ecosystems
Moore, J.-D., Görres, J.H., and Reynolds, J. W., 2018. Environmental Reviews 26:113-120.Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties
Phillips, H.R.P., Bach, E.M., Bartz, M.L.C., Bennett, J.M., Beugnon, R., Briones, M.J.I., Brown, G.G., Ferlian, O., Gongalsky, K.B., Guerra, C.A., König-Ries, B., Krebs, J.J., Orgiazzi A., [...] Eisenhauer, N., 2021. Scientific Data, 8(1), pp.1-12.A checklist by counties of earthworms (Oligochaeta: Acanthodrilidae, Lumbricidae and Megascolecidae) in the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, USA
Reynolds, J.W., Görres, J.H. and Knowles, M.E., 2015. Megadrilogica 17:25-140. -
Earthworms affect soil chemistry. This is what makes them such valuable players in agriculture. However, invasive earthworms change the soil chemistry of an ecosystem from one that is in equilibrium with the vegetation to one that is in flux. This deleteriously impacts carbon and nutrient cycling but may also release legacy pollutants from the soil to the environment.
Invasive earthworms alter forest soil microbiomes and nitrogen cycling
Jang, J., Xiong, X., Liu, C., Yoo, K. and Ishii, S., 2022. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 171, p.108724.Invasive earthworms Amynthas tokioensis and Amynthas agrestis alter macronutrients (Ca, Mg, K, P) in field and laboratory forest soils
Richardson, J.B., Johnston, M.R. and Herrick, B.M., 2022. Pedobiologia, 91, p.150804.Effect of Lumbricus rubellus and Amynthas agrestis earthworms on soil biogeochemistry at the aggregate scale in northern hardwood forests
Tecimen, H.B., Görres, J.H. and Melnichuk, R.D.S., 2021. Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 40(1), pp.83-98.Synthesis of earthworm trace metal uptake and bioaccumulation data: Role of soil concentration, earthworm ecophysiology, and experimental design
Richardson, J.B, Görres, J.H. and Sizmur, T., 2020. Environmental Pollution. 262: 114-126.Earthworms accelerate the biogeochemical cycling of potentially toxic elements: Results of a meta-analysis
Sizmur, T. and Richardson, J., 2020. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 148, p.107865.Influence of invasive earthworms (Amynthas spp.) on Wisconsin forest soil microbial communities and soil chemistry
Price-Christenson, G.J., Johnston, M.R., Herrick, B.M. and Yannarell, A.C., 2020. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 149, p.107955.Earthworm impacts on trace metal (Al, Fe, Mo, Cu, Zn, Pb) exchangeability and uptake by young Acer saccharum and Polystichum acrostichoides
Richardson, J.B., Blossey, B. and Dobson, A.M., 2018. Biogeochemistry 138 (2) 103-119.Invasive earthworms change nutrient availability and uptake by forest understory plants
Dobson, A.M., Blossey, B. and Richardson, J.B., 2017. Plant and Soil, 421 (1-2): 175-190.Effect of the endogeic earthworm Aporrectodea tuberculata on aggregation and carbon redistribution in uninvaded forest soil columns
Knowles, M.E., Ross, D.S. and Görres, J.H., 2016. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 100, pp.192-200.Forest floor decomposition, metal exchangeability, and metal bioaccumulation by exotic earthworms: Amynthas agrestis and Lumbricus rubellus
Richardson, J.B. , Görres, J.H. and Friedland, A.J., 2016. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 23:18253-18266.Invasive earthworms deplete key soil inorganic nutrients (Ca, Mg, K, and P) in a northern hardwood forest
Resner, K., Yoo, K., Sebestyen, S.D., Aufdenkampe, A., Hale, C., Lyttle, A. and Blum, A., 2015. Ecosystems, 18, pp.89-102.Modelling interacting effects of invasive earthworms and wildfire on forest floor carbon storage in the boreal forest
Cameron, E.K., Shaw, C.H., Bayne, E.M., Kurz, W.A. and Kull, S.J., 2015. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 88, pp.189-196.Trace metals and metalloids in forest soils and exotic earthworms in northern New England, USA
Richardson, J.B., Görres, J.H., Jackson, B.P. and Friedland, A.J., 2015. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 85, pp.190-198. -
Knowing about the way jumping worms interact with their environment and organisms within it is crucial to predicting their likely geographic range. Their life cycle is essential to finding potential remedies and when to apply them.
Earthworm co-invasion by Amynthas tokioensis and Amynthas agrestis affects soil microaggregate bacterial communities
West, J.R., Herrick, B.M. and Whitman, T., 2024. Applied Soil Ecology, 195, p.105224.Apolocystis bosanqueti n. sp.(Apicomplexa: Eugregarinorida) from the invasive earthworm Amynthas agrestis (Annelida: Megascolecidae), with significance for the monophyly of the family Monocystidae
Schall, J. J., Nouri-Aiin, M. and Görres, J., 2023. Journal of Parasitology, 109(2), 56-64.Earthworm cocoons: The cryptic side of invasive earthworm populations
Nouri-Aiin, M. and Görres, J.H., 2019. Applied Soil Ecology, 141, pp.54-60.Niche-structured assemblages of exotic earthworms in headwater streambanks in eastern New York State, USA
Pinder, R.A. and Robinson, G.R., 2019. Pedobiologia.Physical properties of soils altered by invasive pheretimoid earthworms: Does their casting layer create thermal refuges?
Görres, J.H., Martin, C., Nouri-Aiin, M. and Bellitürk, K., 2019. Soil Systems. 2019, 3(3), 52.Winter hatching in New England populations of invasive pheretimoid earthworms Amynthas agrestis and Amynthas tokioensis: A limit on population growth, or aid in peripheral expansion?
Görres, J.H., Connolly S.T., Chang, C.-H., Carpenter, N. R., Keller, E.L., Nouri-Aiin, M. and Schall, J.J., 2018. Biological Invasions 20: 1651-1655.Temperature and moisture variables affecting the earthworms of genus Amynthas Kinberg, 1867 (Oligachaeta: Megascolecidae) in a hardwood forest in the Champlain Valley, Vermont, USA
Görres, J.H., Bellitürk, K. and Melnichuk, R.D.S., 2016. Applied Soil Ecology, 104,111-115.Can commercial mulches be reservoirs of invasive earthworms? Promotion of ligninolytic enzyme activity and survival of Amynthas agrestis (Goto and Hatai, 1899)
Bellitürk, K., Görres, J.H., Kunkle, J. and Melnichuk, R.D.S., 2015. Applied Soil Ecology, 87: 27-31.Mortality pattern relative to size variation within Amynthas agrestis (Goto & Hatai 1899) (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) populations in the Champlain Valley of Vermont, USA
Görres, J.H., Melnichuk, R.D.S. and Bellitürk, K., 2014. Megadrilogica,16, 2-9. -
It is almost inconceivable now to do biological research on invasive species without a component that probes DNA and RNA. Molecular tools can be used to identify species that would otherwise be difficult to recognize. But these tools can also investigate the origins and progress of invasions.
Genetic population structure and reproductive system of two invasive Asian earthworms, Amynthas tokioensis and Amynthas agrestis
Nouri-Aiin, M., Connolly, S., Keough, C., Smigelsky, A.J., Wen, Y., Howland, J., Schall, J.J. and Görres, J.H., 2022. PeerJ, 10, p.e13622.Identifying the unidentifiable: A PCR multiplex protocol for the diagnosis of invasive pheretimoid earthworm species, verified by morphological and barcode identification
Nouri-Aiin, M., Schall, J.J., Keough, C.A., Wen, Y. and Görres, J.H., 2021. Applied Soil Ecology, 161, p.103822.Genetic diversity of an invasive earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris, at a long-term trading crossroad, the Champlain Valley of Vermont, USA
Keller E.L., Connolly, S.T., Görres, J.H. and Schall, J.J., 2020. Biological Invasions.Changes in the genetic structure of an invasive earthworm species (Lumbricus terrestris, Lumbricidae) along an urban–rural gradient in North America
Klein, A., Cameron, E.K., Heimburger, B., Eisenhauer, N., Scheu, S. and Schaefer, I., 2017. Applied Soil Ecology, 120, pp.265-272.Genetic structure of two invasive earthworms, Amynthas agrestis and Amynthas tokioensis (Oligochaeta, Megascolecidae), and a molecular method for species identification
Keller, E., Görres, J.H. and Schall, J.J., 2017. Megadrilogica, 17(2), pp.7-13.Genetic structure of invasive earthworms Dendrobaena octaedra in the boreal forest of Alberta: insights into introduction mechanisms
Cameron, E.K., Bayne, E.M. and Coltman, D.W., 2008. Molecular Ecology, 17(5), pp.1189-1197. -
To manage invasions, control measures have to be taken. These can be physical, chemical or biological in nature. Biological control attempts to utilize predators and pathogens to reduce the populations of pests and invasive organisms. For earthworms this research is only at the beginning.
Biocontrol of invasive pheretimoid earthworms using Beauveria bassiana
Nouri-Aiin, M. and Görres, J.H., 2021. PeerJ, 9, p.e11101.Cocoon heat tolerance of pheretimoid earthworms Amynthas tokioensis and Amynthas agrestis
Johnston, M.R. and Herrick, B.M., 2019. The American Midland Naturalist, 181(2), pp.299-309. -
Citizen science is one way to involve society in the scientific enterprise. Our network recognizes the importance of mobilizing citizens, businesses and agencies to work together to manage the earthworm invasions that threaten our forest.
Asian jumping worms: A homeowner’s guide
Bezrutczyk, A., Bowe, A., Brown-Lima, C., Dávalos, A., Dobson, A., Herrick, B., McCay, T. and Wickings, K.Public reporting and perception of invasive pheretimoid “jumping worms” in the Northeastern United States
Johnson, D.M., Gale, K.M., Dobson, A.M. and McCay, T.S., 2021. Northeastern Naturalist, 28(3), pp.383-396.Ready, set, go: Community science field campaign reveals habitat preferences of nonnative Asian earthworms in an urban landscape
Ziter, C.D., Herrick, B.M., Johnston, M.R. and Turner, M.G., 2021. Bioscience, 71(3), pp.280-291.