Invasive Jumping Worms: The Impact of a New Soil Invader - Brad Herrick

Glaciated regions of North America are devoid of native terrestrial earthworms. Earthworms such as the common nightcrawler and red worm are European species that arrived during settlement and have become naturalized. Jumping worms represent a second wave of invasion. Endemic to Japan and the Korean peninsula, these new earthworms are quickly invading deciduous forests in dozens of States, including all of the neighboring states to Michigan. They have also been reported in south-eastern and south-central counties in Michigan.
They are voracious consumers of organic matter, change soil nutrient cycling processes, impact forest fauna such as amphibians, ground-nesting birds, and soil arthropods, and quickly change the soil structure into loose, granular beads that are highly erodible. The removal of the “duff” layer also removes the germination media for plant seeds. This presentation will focus on how jumping worms differ from other earthworms, how they spread, potential long-term impacts to the environment, and what steps we can take to minimize their spread and impact.
Brad Herrick holds a B.A. in Biology from Luther College and an M.S. in Ecosystems Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He is the ecologist and research program manager at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum and a PhD student in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies also at UW-Madison. Since 2013, he has been researching the effects of jumping worms on plant and soil interactions in forests and residential gardens, susceptibility of habitats to invasion, and potential control mechanisms. He has given dozens of public talks about jumping worms and has been interviewed by various periodicals and news outlets such as, The Atlantic, NY Times, Science News, and Vox.
presented at Kalamazoo Area Wild Ones monthly meeting, March 23, 2022
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