Collaborative study of upland earthworm assemblages in North America

This study of earthworm distributions was one of the EREN’s first “expansion” projects, originated in 2012. Earthworm invasion in North America is dynamic and consequential. Peregrine species from Europe dominate in many habitats, and Asian “crazy worms” are spreading rapidly and disrupting ecosystems. About twenty collaborators have used a standard protocol to sample earthworms and contribute to a common analysis. Sampling is easily done by students and can be done in a lab period. Broad collaborative networks are perfect tools for understanding active invasions, and invasive earthworms illustrate many aspects of applied ecology.