Earthworm+Invaders+May+be+Stressing+Out+Some+Maples

Earthworm Invaders May be Stressing Out Some Maples Science News for Students Accessed on November 30, 2017 []

Summary: Though earthworms are beneficial in the recycling of nutrients, they can cause problems when they appear in places that have not had them for many years. Earthworms do not naturally settle in places that were once affected by the Ice Age, however, people have been unknowingly transporting earthworms into these areas by way of waste and vehicles. Consequently, earthworms are causing rifts in food webs. Earthworms are helpful in mixing soil but can cause problems when they mix up forest soil naturally separated by layers which is what the forest plants are used to, especially the sugar maple. Forest health scientist Tara Bal has observed stress in sugar maples because of their shallow root’s inability to gain nutrients from mixed soil. After studying 120 forest plots in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, it was determined that the common problem was with the forest floor which is directly related to earthworms. While they did not see the worms, they observed changes in carbon levels and forest cover. Worms are changing food webs which could change ecosystems; however, since sugar maples are less resilient, replacing these trees with stronger trees could increase resilience in forests.

Relevance to Course: This article relates to this course because it shows how human activity affects deforestation. Less diverse forests are more vulnerable to pathogens and insects (Miller 663). By reducing the amount of sugar maple trees, those forests affected will lose defense and eventually be more vulnerable to insects, for example earthworms. Preserving biodiversity by protecting the sugar maples is the best and cheapest defense against pathogens and insects (Miller 664).

Opinion: I believe that there definitely needs to be more awareness about how humans are displacing the natural environment. I think that there needs to be more awareness to the people that we may be transporting harmful things without our knowledge. Increased awareness will mitigate problems to prevent the ruining of food webs like this one. I disagree with the author that the replacement of sugar maples in forests is ethical. Even though it could increase forest resilience, it is not right to accept the fall of one species even if it will give rise to another. Additionally, allowing earthworms to wreak havoc on the careful balance of ecosystems and in turn food webs could have unforeseen consequences.

Law: This article relates to the Lacey Act of 1900 because earthworms exhibit the introduction of nonnative species and their negative impacts. Even though the introduction of earthworms into new areas was unintentional, it still raises concern about the transport of nonnative species. This relates to the Lacey Act because the Lacey Act prohibits the transport of live or dead wild animals across borders without a permit. The consideration of this law would raise awareness about the negative impacts of nonnative species.

[[image:https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/sites/default/files/scald-image/WT_maple_dieback_free.jpg caption="These sugar maple trees are presumably under stress because of their dead branches.

Photograph taken by Tara Bal and sourced from Science News for Students"]]