There are 19 species of worms in Vermont. Three of them are considered invasive; they are known as snake worms or jumping worms. These busy, invasive worms change the forest floor and the content of the soil, making it difficult for new growth to take root. This affects the habitat and food source of wildlife and the future of the forest itself.
In this episode of Outdoor Radio, hosts Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra are at the Green Moutain Audubon Center in Huntington, Vermont. They are joined by Mark Labarr, Conservation Program Manager for the Green Mountain Audubon Center, Dr. Josef Görres, from the Plant and Soil Science department at UVM and a graduate student studying the snake worm, Maryam Nouri-Aiin. Together they search the forest floor, in the rain, looking for invasive species of worms.
Some links for more info:
- https://www.uvm.edu/~entlab/Forest%20IPM/Worms/InvasiveWorms.html
- https://vtinvasives.org/invasive/jumping-worms
- https://blog.uvm.edu/jgorres/amynthas/
- https://fpr.vermont.gov/sites/fpr/files/Forest_and_Forestry/Forest_Health/Library/EarthwormsInForests_final.pdf
- If you find jumping worms, take some photos and add them to the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturlalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/vermont-atlas-of-life. See a map of locations where they have been reported to the project: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?captive=any&place_id=47&project_id=558&taxon_id=196397&verifiable=any
Outdoor Radio is produced in collaboration with the Vermont Center For Ecostudies.
