Invasion Of The Earthworms!

Worms cause major changes to ecosystems, but those changes aren’t always new.

Thanks to the University of Minnesota for sponsoring this video! http://twin-cities.umn.edu/

Thanks also to our supporters on https://www.patreon.com/MinuteEarth
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If you want to learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
Invasive species: A non-native species that causes harm to the ecosystem.
Biome: A large, naturally occurring community of flora and fauna.
Duff layer: The moderately to highly decomposed organic material between the leaf litter and the soil.
Seedling: A young plant less than one meter high.
Sapling: A young tree that’s bigger than a seedling.
Graminoids: Herbaceous plants and grasses.
Coevolution: The process that occurs when two closely associated species influence each other’s evolutionary paths.
Savanna: A grassy plain with scattered tree coverage.
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Credits (and Twitter handles):
Script Writer: David Goldenberg (@dgoldenberg)
Script Editor: Alex Reich (@alexhreich)
Video Illustrator: Qingyang Chen (@QCVisual)
Video Director: Emily Elert (@eelert)
Video Narrator: Emily Elert (@eelert)
With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Kate Yoshida, Ever Salazar, Peter Reich
Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder: http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder

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References:

Dylan Craven, Madhav P. Thakur, Erin K. Cameron, Lee E. Frelich, Robin Beauséjour, Robert B. Blair, Bernd Blossey, James Burtis, Amy Choi, Andrea Dávalos, Timothy J. Fahey, Nicholas A. Fisichelli, Kevin Gibson, I. Tanya Handa, Kristine Hopfensperger, Scott R. Loss, Victoria Nuzzo, John C. Maerz, Tara Sackett, Bryant C. Scharenbroch, Sandy M. Smith, Mark Vellend, Lauren G. Umek, Nico Eisenhauer (2016). The unseen invaders: introduced earthworms as drivers of change in plant communities in North American forests (a meta-analysis). Global Change Biology. 1-10. Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.13446/full

Sonja Migge-Kleian, Mary Ann McLean, John C. Maerz, and Liam Heneghan (2006). The influence of invasive earthworms on indigenous fauna in ecosystems previously uninhabited by earthworms. Biological Invasions. 8:6 (1275-1285). Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-006-9021-9

Alexander M.Roth, Timothy J.S.Whitfeld, Alexandra G. Lodge, Nico Eisenhauer, Lee E. Frelich· and Peter B. Reich (2015). Invasive earthworms interact with abiotic conditions to influence the invasion of common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica). Oecologia. 178: 219:230. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25481818

Hendrit, Paul (Editor). 2007. Biological Invasions Belowground: Earthworms as Invasive Species.

Wackett, Adrian. (2017). Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota. Personal Communication.