Earthworms As Invasive Species
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Earthworms As Invasive Species
Earthworms are invasive species throughout the world. Of a total of about 6,000 species of earthworm, about 120 species are widely distributed around the globe. These are the peregrine or cosmopolitan earthworms. Some of these are invasive species in many regions. Australia Australia has 650 known species of native earthworm that survive in both rich and in nutrient-poor conditions where they may be sensitive to changes in the environment. The total native species numbers are predicted to exceed 1,000.Blakemore, Rob''Diversity of exotic earthworms in Australia - a status report.''Transactions of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 1999 "Approximately 350 native species in about 30 genera are currently described for Australia, but an estimate of total number is about three times as large (Blakemore 1997a)." Introduced species are commonly found in agricultural environments along with persistent natives. 66 exotic species are known by 1999, most of which have been intr ...
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Earthworms
An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. They occur worldwide where soil, water, and temperature allow. Earthworms are commonly found in soil, eating a wide variety of organic matter. This organic matter includes plant matter, living protozoa, rotifers, nematodes, bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. An earthworm's digestive system runs the length of its body. An earthworm respires (breathes) through its skin. It has a double transport system made of coelomic fluid that moves within the fluid-filled coelom and a simple, closed circulatory system. It has a central and peripheral nervous system. Its central nervous system consists of two ganglia above the mouth, one on either side, connected to a nerve running along its length to motor neurons and sensory cells in each se ...
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Salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela. Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm. Salamanders rarely have more than four toes on their front legs and five on their rear legs, but some species have fewer digits and others lack hind limbs. Their permeable skin usually makes them reliant on habitats in or near water or other cool, damp places. Some salamander species are fully aquatic throughout their lives, some take to the water intermittently, and others are entirely terrestrial as adults. This group of amphibians is capable of regenerating lost lim ...
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Honeysuckle
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both continents. Widely known species include ''Lonicera periclymenum'' (common honeysuckle or woodbine), ''Lonicera japonica'' (Japanese honeysuckle, white honeysuckle, or Chinese honeysuckle) and ''Lonicera sempervirens'' (coral honeysuckle, trumpet honeysuckle, or woodbine honeysuckle). ''L. japonica'' is an aggressive, highly invasive species considered a significant pest on the continents of North America, Europe, South America, Australia, and Africa. Some species are highly fragrant and colorful, so are cultivated as ornamental garden plants. In North America, hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers, especially ''L. sempervirens'' and ''L. ciliosa'' (orange honeysuckle). Honeysuckle derives its name from the edible sweet nectar obtainable fro ...
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Rhamnus Cathartica
''Rhamnus cathartica'', the European buckthorn, common buckthorn, purging buckthorn, or just buckthorn, is a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Rhamnaceae. It is native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia, from the central British Isles south to Morocco, and east to Kyrgyzstan.Flora Europaea''Rhamnus cathartica''/ref> It was introduced to North America as an ornamental shrub in the early 19th century or perhaps before, and is now naturalized in the northern half of the continent, and is classified as an invasive plant in several US states and in Ontario, Canada. Description ''Rhamnus cathartica'' is a deciduous, dioecious shrub or small tree growing up to tall, with grey-brown bark and often thorny branches. The leaves are elliptic to oval, long and broad; they are green, turning yellow in autumn, and are arranged somewhat variably in opposite to subopposite pairs or alternately. The flowers are yellowish-green, with four petals; they are dioe ...
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Fishing Bait
Fishing bait is any substance used to attract and catch fish, e.g. on a fishing hook. Bait items are both selected from and placed within the environment to achieve enhanced prey capture success. Traditionally, fishing baits are natural fish food such as night-crawlers, insects, worms, and smaller bait fish that have been used for catching fish. Fishermen have also begun using processed food, plastic baits and more recently, bionic lures to attract fish. Despite the importance of fish's attraction to bait, the way fish react to different baits is quite poorly understood. The various techniques and bait that a fisher may choose is dictated mainly by the target species and by its habitat. Bait can be separated into two main categories: artificial baits and natural baits. The alternative of artificial and live baits frequently demonstrate similar efficiency. The overall bait type and size will affect the efficiency and results of catches when fishing.  With these two common w ...
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Minnesota Department Of Natural Resources
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recreational trails, and recreation areas as well as managing minerals, wildlife, and forestry throughout the state. The agency is divided into six divisions - Ecological & Water Resources, Enforcement, Fish & Wildlife, Forestry, Lands & Minerals, and Parks & Trails. History Efforts to conserve Minnesota's wildlife began as early as 1876, with a forestry association established to protect the state's timber resources. However, those efforts became futile as the industry took over and people sought the money that could be made on the land. Over time, there were other attempts to control the destruction of resources, but most only had effects on what was done to public land, such as the Land Commission established in 1885. In 1911 the Minnesot ...
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Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques include hand-gathering, spearing, netting, angling, shooting and trapping, as well as more destructive and often illegal techniques such as electrocution, blasting and poisoning. The term fishing broadly includes catching aquatic animals other than fish, such as crustaceans ( shrimp/ lobsters/crabs), shellfish, cephalopods (octopus/squid) and echinoderms ( starfish/ sea urchins). The term is not normally applied to harvesting fish raised in controlled cultivations ( fish farming). Nor is it normally applied to hunting aquatic mammals, where terms like whaling and sealing are used instead. Fishing has been an important part of human culture since hunter-gatherer times, and is one of the few food production activities that have persisted ...
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Perionyx Excavatus
''Perionyx excavatus'' is a commercially produced earthworm. Popular names for this species include composting worms, blues, or Indian blues. This species is marketed for its ability to create fine worm castings quickly. It has recently become more popular in North America for composting purposes. This species belongs to the genus ''Perionyx''. It may have its origins in the Himalayan mountains. It is considered native to tropical East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. This species is suited for vermicomposting in tropical and subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ... regions.Blakemore (2000) http://www.annelida.net/earthworm/Vermillennium%202000/Vermicology%20I.pdf References Megascolecidae {{annelid-stub ...
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Eudrilus Eugeniae
''Eudrilus eugeniae'', also called the "African Nightcrawler", is an earthworm species native to tropical west Africa and now widespread in warm regions under vermicompost; it is an excellent source of protein and has great pharmaceutical potential. Growth Fecundity, growth, maturation and biomass production were all significantly greater at 25 °C than 15°, 20°or 30°. The growth of individual earthworms increases as the population density lowers, but the greatest overall earthworm biomass production occurs at the highest population density. The greatest number of cocoons per week and the number of hatchlings per cocoon are obtained at 25 °C. Cocoons of ''E. eugeniae'' hatched in only 12 days at 25 °C, and the worms reach sexual maturity in as little as 35 days after hatching. Etymology Named after Johan Gustaf Hjalmar Kinberg's Swedish survey ship, the ‘Eugenie’. Life cycle Throughout its life cycle, ''E. eugeniae'' grows much more rapidly than ' ...
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Pontoscolex Corethrurus
''Pontoscolex corethrurus'' is an earthworm in the genus ''Pontoscolex''. It has a circumtropical distribution, although it originates in the Neotropics, probably in the Guiana Plateau. Description The worms are unpigmented and have around 200 segments. Adults measure in length. Reproduction It reproduces both parthenogenetically and (rarely) sexually, and under experimental conditions can complete its life cycle in about one year. Ecology and habitat The worm thrives in difficult environments with poor food nutrition. It is key to emergence of agriculture in the Amazon Basin, where soil is extremely poor. It may have facilitated the formation of ''terra preta''. On the other hand, the worm's adaptability has allowed it to spread to many disturbed tropical areas, especially urban sites and industrially-farmed areas. It is now considered an invasive species in many parts of the world. An endogeic worm creating globular casts, it is considered responsible for soil compact ...
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Scottish Crop Research Institute
The Scottish Crop Research Institute more commonly known as SCRI was a scientific institute located in Invergowrie near Dundee, Scotland. As of April 2011, when SCRI merged with the Macaulay Land Use Institute it is now part of The James Hutton Institute. History The institute was opened in 1951 in Invergowrie under the name Scottish Horticultural Research Institute (SHRI). In 1981, the SHRI merged with the Scottish Plant Breeding Station (SPBS), which at the time was located near Edinburgh. Operations of the SPBS moved to the institute's site at Invergowrie and became the Scottish Crop Research Institute. In 1987 the institute accepted managerial responsibility for Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland, formerly the Scottish Agricultural Statistics Service. The commercial arm of the SCRI, Mylnefield Research Services, was launched in 1989. In April 2011 SCRI merged with the Macaulay Land Use Institute to form a new body, The James Hutton Institute. Research The SCRI has b ...
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New Zealand Flatworm
The New Zealand flatworm (''Arthurdendyus triangulatus'') is a large land flatworm native to New Zealand. It can vary from 5 mm in length when hatched to approximately in mature adults. The New Zealand flatworm is considered an invasive species in parts of Europe. This species is included since 2019 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list). This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union. Description The ventral surface of the flatworm is a pale buff colour while the dorsal surface is dark brown. Young flatworms vary in colour from white to pale orange and develop their adult colouration as they grow. During the day, flatworms can be found resting on the surface of soil underneath objects in close contact with the ground. They may also be found beneath the soil surface hunting for earthworms. Reproduction involves the prod ...
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