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Invasive Asian Earthworms Negatively Impact Woodland Salamanders: Competitive Exclusion, Foraging Interference, And Habitat Degradation Reduce Salamander Density, Julie L. Ziemba

Masters Theses

Asian earthworms (Amynthas spp.) are invading North American forests and consuming the vital detrital layer that forest floor biota (including the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus) rely on for protection, food, and habitat. Salamander population decline has been associated with European earthworm-mediated leaf litter loss, but there have been few studies on the interactions between Amynthas spp. and P. cinereus. Since the large, active Amynthas spp. earthworms spatially overlap with salamanders beneath natural cover objects and in detritus, they may compound the negative consequences of resource degradation by physically disturbing important salamander activities (foraging, mating, and egg brooding). I predicted …