Can commercial mulches be reservoirs of invasive earthworms? Promotion of ligninolytic enzyme activity and survival of Amynthas agrestis (Goto and Hatai, 1899)

Bellitürk, Korkmaz; Görres, Josef H.; Kunkle, Jeanne; Melnichuk, Ryan D. S.

doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2014.11.007

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Two of the invading species, Amynthas agrestis and Amynthas hilgendorfi, are of special concern due to their high abundance and biomass (Callaham et al, 2003;G€ orres and Melnichuk, 2012;Greiner et al, 2012), ability to spread with facilitation from human activities (Belliturk et al, 2015), and potential to completely displace other earthworm species (Greiner et al, 2012;Chang et al, 2016). While recent studies have shown that the effect of Amynthas on soil C may be similar to that of the European species (Snyder et al, 2011(Snyder et al, , 2013Greiner et al, 2012), our understanding on the mechanisms through which different Amynthas and European earthworm species affect soil C dynamics is still limited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species-specific effects of earthworms on microbial communities and the fate of litter-derived carbon

Chang

Szlávecz

Buyer

2016

Soil Biology and Biochemistry

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a b s t r a c tSoil respiration is frequently measured as a surrogate for biological activities and is important in soil carbon cycling. The heterotrophic component of soil respiration is primarily driven by microbial decomposition of leaf litter and soil organic matter, and is partially controlled by resource availability. In North American temperate deciduous forests, invasive European and Asian earthworms are known to variously affect soil properties and resource availability through their feeding, burrowing, and casting behaviors, and may affect different components of soil respiration through modulating the microbial communities. By tracing litter-derived C from 13 C and 15 N double-enriched leaf litter into soil and CO 2 efflux in a mesocosm experiment, we tested the hypothesis that earthworms inhibit litter C-derived soil respiration by reducing resource availability and microbial biomass, and further examined how speciesspecific effects of earthworms on soil respiration are mediated by soil microbial community. We showed that while earthworms generally had no effect on total soil respiration, the interaction between Octolasion lacteum and Lumbricus rubellus had a significant negative non-additive effect, presumably through affecting anaerobic microsites in the soil. Moreover, litter C-derived soil respiration was reduced by the Asian Amynthas hilgendorfi, the European L. rubellus, and the North American native species Eisenoides lonnbergi, but not by the European species O. lacteum. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and structural equation modeling indicated that while soil bacteria and fungi abundances were affected by earthworm species identities, the observed reduction of litter C-derived soil respiration could not be fully explained by changes in microbial biomass. We attributed these effects to earthworm-induced aggregate formation, reduction of microbial transformation of labile carbon, and antimicrobial peptide activities, and concluded that the mechanisms through which the four earthworm species affect the fate of litterderived C and its mineralization are species-specific.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species-specific effects of earthworms on microbial communities and the fate of litter-derived carbon

Chang

Szlávecz

Buyer

2016

Soil Biology and Biochemistry

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“…It is common in urban and suburban areas and is also invading deciduous forests in eastern US (C.-H. Chang and K. Szlavecz, personal observation). Its spread is probably facilitated by commercial mulches, as is in A. agrestis (Belliturk et al 2015). It has been shown to be the superior competitor when interacting with Lumbricus rubellus, an epi-endogeic European earthworm common in the US, for leaf litter.…”

Section: Amynthas Tokioensismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been known to compete with native millipedes in southeastern US for food resources, particularly the fragmented, partially decomposed leaf litter (Snyder et al 2011;. Current practice of using commercial mulch for horticulture and landscaping may help spreading of this invasive species (Belliturk et al 2015).…”

Section: Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Asian pheretimoid earthworms in North America north of Mexico: An illustrated key to the genera Amynthas, Metaphire, Pithemera, and Polypheretima (Clitellata: Megascolecidae)

Chang

Snyder

Szlávecz

2016

Zootaxa

596

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The invasion of the pheretimoid earthworms in North America, especially the genera Amynthas and Metaphire, has raised increasing concerns among ecologists and land managers, in turn increasing the need for proper identification. However, the commonly used keys to this group are more than 30 years old with outdated taxonomic information and are based primarily on internal morphology. The requirement of significant amount of taxonomic expertise and dissection, even from the first entry of the key, has prevented broader use of these keys. As a result, many publications in the United States have used Amynthas spp. to represent the group without identifying the species. We present here a new key and diagnoses for the 16 pheretimoid earthworm species recorded in North America north of Mexico, including four genera: Amynthas (10), Metaphire (4), Pithemera (1), and Polypheretima (1). The descriptions were based on published records with modifications following inspection of specimens archived at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Photos of external and internal characters, including male pores, spermathecal pores, genital markings, spermathecae, prostate glands, and intestinal caeca, are presented to help identification. A summary of current knowledge about the ecology and historical context is provided for each species. We also highlight the previously overlooked and potentially common and widespread co-occurrence of three species-A. agrestis, A. tokioensis, and M. hilgendorfi-and point out that many recent claims of invasion of A. agrestis need to be re-evaluated for potential misidentification.

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“…The high organic matter concentration of the forest floor may have alleviated much of the Al toxicity at the measured soil Al concentration based upon Zhang et al (2013). However, other mesocosm experiments have also reported similar mortality rates (e.g., Bellitürk et al 2015).…”

Section: Earthworm Bioaccumulationmentioning

confidence: 88%

Forest floor decomposition, metal exchangeability, and metal bioaccumulation by exotic earthworms: Amynthas agrestis and Lumbricus rubellus

Richardson

Görres

Friedland

2016

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Earthworms have the potential to reduce the retention of pollutant and plant essential metals in the forest floor (organic horizons) by decomposing organic matter and increasing exchangeability of metals. We conducted a laboratory experiment to investigate the effects of two exotic earthworms, Amynthas agrestis and Lumbricus rubellus, on forest floor decomposition, metal exchangeability, and metal bioaccumulation. Eighty-one pots containing homogenized forest floor material were incubated for 20, 40, or 80 days under three treatments: no earthworms, A. agrestis added, or L. rubellus added. For earthworm treatments, A. agrestis and L. rubellus were stocked at densities observed in previous field studies. Pots containing either A. agrestis or L. rubellus had lost more forest floor mass than the control plots after 40 and 80 days of incubation. Forest floor pots containing A. agrestis had significantly lower % C (16 ± 1.5 %) than control pots (21 ± 1.2 %) after 80 days. However, L. rubellus consumed more forest floor and C mass than A. agrestis, when evaluated on a per earthworm biomass basis. Exchangeable (0.1 M KCl + 0.01 M AcOH extractable) and stable (15 M HNO3+ 10 M HCl extractable) concentrations of Al, Ca, Cd, Cu, Mg, Mn, Pb, and Zn in forest floor material were measured. Stable concentrations and % exchangeable metals in forest floor material were similar among treatments. Although exchangeable metal concentrations varied significantly for most metals among treatments (except Mg and Zn), we conclude that earthworms did not increase or decrease the exchangeability of metals. However, earthworms bioaccumulated Cu, Cd, Zn, and Mg and had potentially hazardous tissue concentrations of Al and Pb. This was best illustrated by calculating bioaccumulation factors using exchangeable concentrations rather than total concentrations. Future research is needed to understand the effect of earthworms on metals in other soil types.

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Can commercial mulches be reservoirs of invasive earthworms? Promotion of ligninolytic enzyme activity and survival of Amynthas agrestis (Goto and Hatai, 1899)

Cited by 27 publications

References 20 publications

Species-specific effects of earthworms on microbial communities and the fate of litter-derived carbon

Species-specific effects of earthworms on microbial communities and the fate of litter-derived carbon

Asian pheretimoid earthworms in North America north of Mexico: An illustrated key to the genera Amynthas, Metaphire, Pithemera, and Polypheretima (Clitellata: Megascolecidae)

Forest floor decomposition, metal exchangeability, and metal bioaccumulation by exotic earthworms: Amynthas agrestis and Lumbricus rubellus

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