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! twin-cities.umn.edu/
Thanks also to our supporters on / minuteearth
___________________________________________
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.
___________________________________________
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: / drschroeder
_________________________________________
Like our videos?
Subscribe to MinuteEarth on KZbin: goo.gl/EpIDGd
Support us on Patreon: goo.gl/ZVgLQZ
And visit our website: www.minuteearth.com/
Also, say hello on:
Facebook: goo.gl/FpAvo6
Twitter: goo.gl/Y1aWVC
And download our videos on itunes: goo.gl/sfwS6n
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
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: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10...
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: link.springer.com/article/10....
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: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2...
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.

[@TheNoxenKillers]

Reasons why I watch: 1) There's usually a pun that makes me want to off myself. 2) Informative, yet entertaining 3) Why wouldn't you watch?

[@ophylias2107]

Are you telling me worms are the key to getting mammoths back? Cause I am 100000% here for that.

[@sladikk]

Changing ecosystems too fast isn't a good thing; that's the main issue with global warming

[@Phiteros]

I actually read an article a while ago (I don't remember where it was) about how a group of Russian researchers are trying to recreate an alpine prairie environment. The idea is that prairies have a much higher albedo than dark forests, so they should reflect more sunlight and reduce global warming. As a part of this project, they wanted to figure out a way to introduce modern mammoths.

[@seanm5425]

Umm, that's not a good thing if you ask me

[@merikmalhads1676]

Haha good joke, where are the elephants to evolve into mammoths gonna come from?

[@thejurassicwarewolf3300]

mammothes where around here BEFORE elephants

[@TeddyBear-br2co]

Well, they still worm their way into my heart.

[@WenisincTM]

Worm go brrrrrrrr

[@misscatlover8036]

Same 🐛

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

Step 1: Come up with bad pun Step 2: Make educational video leading up to it

[@thezipcreator]

3. Wait for views

[@erikjohnson315]

4. Profit

[@ciansevilla3909]

5. Repeat

[@readmore3208]

3.5 ??????

[@antoniolewis1016]

You win

[@ExplodingDarth]

I just love how they always end with a pun, it makes watching every video definitely worth it.

[@Astronomy487]

the puns are deadly

[@thethegreenmachine]

She should be PUNished.

[@RandomGuy-ch7ur]

thethegreenmachine OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!

[@thethegreenmachine]

+Random Guy :)

[@alexandor93]

thats right :D

[@SigmaKilm]

I love when you make more videos because this channel has helped my understand things I didn't understand

[@shrekislife584]

This channel helps me understand things I didn't know that I didn't understand.

[@ProfessorPolitics]

Shrek isLife This channel helped me understand things I didn't know that I even wanted to understand.

[@ThePopUpH8r]

This channel helped my standing on things I do not understand.

[@alexandor93]

me too

[@dustinhiatt3835]

It hasn't help you understand Grammar, though

[@killernat]

as a gardener in southern Quebec maple trees are the most common weed I deal with they grow fast and make deep roots fast a 2 year old tree is almost impossible to remove without digging it up and if you cut them [young trees] down they will sprout another main branch and even more roots.

[@vincentkooi]

Global 'worm'ing

[@ayapotato7429]

Can't believe they didn't have that pun in the video!

[@ksheerasagarareddyvalisemm533]

+Sindar From IKR

[@asky4368]

Hahahahah my mom said thats a good one and thats funny =:)

[@katlin8403]

i love it how your videos are short and clear and not long and confusing :D

[@CraftyF0X]

I think it is a very good thing that you called out the scientists by name, and even showed their face in the end. The general public definatelly needs to become familiar with more scientists and less (usual) celebrities.

[@Jaytheneonwolf1011]

Earth worm sally has took everything in the world :D

[@emmimiax8337]

She took my bling bling chain. :C

[@STAPLEDTONGUE]

Yes finally

[@BlueEngland]

is that a flamgo reference

[@Jaytheneonwolf1011]

@@BlueEngland yup

[@dot_Connection]

I love these videos! they're very thought provoking, giving your brain something to munch on for the day

[@genessab]

Gotta say those worm animations make me very very happy

[@JesusHComedy]

That ending was possibly the greatest wormhole pun of all time!

[@frodomeister683]

MinuteEarth is best!

[@et496]

He is!

[@alexandor93]

love that channel

[@jayfawn8478]

Felix soul exe did u assume its gender?

[@et496]

jay fawn Come on...

[@nutritiousapples5196]

i love your videos. simple informative, and impartial

[@randomness6862]

I loved this video more than usual for some reason. Keep up the good work

[@thethegreenmachine]

Interesting. There's a flatworm that hitched a ride from New Zealand (I think) to England, so now England's losing all their earthworms.

[@MrTanapongs]

I love these original drawing.

[@light5bolt217]

I love the cute little drawings you guys make 🙃

[@iannecruz9528]

We Reached 2M Wow Congrats Keep Workin dude

[@Iguana5k]

I always thaught worms are just everywhere. Never thought there were places that arent used to them.

[@Corruptedhope]

OH MY SO MUCH PUNS THAT ARE SO CALCULATED OH MY

[@bobbytun]

Emily is the best because her drawing is a scuba diver.

[@Mithranos]

Good vid. lays out the facts and doesn't tell you what to conclude.

[@xanderthemartinez]

I just realized that the relationships between populations of species in ecosystems could be described through game theory. Even in populations which seem hostile, such as predator and prey, they still depend on each other and make sacrifices because if one were to flourish, it would throw the balance out of whack ("Out of Whack", the most intellectual of sciency terms) and hurt all of them in the long run!

[@likjhnfkjsbn]

Dat last line doe. hahaha. was not prepared for Dad joke sneakiness.

[@chenggonglee4992]

I heard about this 8 years ago when I was a freshman in high school... sad because we literally can't do anything on a large scale... rip to humanity and earth

[@poots605]

I only have four recommended videos. And only one of them is another MinuteEarth video.

[@prathameshgholap8]

Love the puns! 'worm' hole and can of worms!!

[@JaqenHghar.]

these videos always blow my mind

[@TheObsidianX]

Why isn't Europe a savannah then?

[@itssilent9285]

TheObsidianX because europe is my city

[@felipe970421]

The earthworms aren't the only factor.

[@niceshoot777]

Because it didn´t invade europe it evolved there! The eco system was created with the worm alongside so they balanced out. In Canada the ecosystem evolved without it so after the introduction of the worm, it is not balanced anymore.

[@Emma-xi3im]

im from Europe and my cuntry has a lot of forests ( sorry for bad spelling ).

[@superleipoman]

Different climates, obviously.

[@whodunit1711]

Cool video, and interesting, thanks!

[@AvaTheFaeva]

Another puntastic video! They never get old!!! :D

[@tristanpink3044]

"A whole nother can of worms" >nother

[@SuperExodian]

can you even get rid of a worm infestation once it's started, i imagine it's quite difficult to track down every last worm

[@connorgayne2523]

You're awesome Minute Earth!

[@itsstuli9553]

That's a great sponsor you chose

[@chalkeater3457]

Sally the Earthworn: revenge of the worms

[@fcm3d]

Ahh the tiniest of things effecting such a large scale change. I smell a Pixar movie!

[@HolyFuckinSex]

I really enjoyed the wormhole reference! :P

[@Teeeth]

i love how you make short vids

[@rania9534]

ooh.. the wormhole pun was genius!!

[@royalguard7413]

"The northerners, or Norse, if you don't have time, went from the North to the Northern North..." -Bill Wurtz

[@Aelfraed26]

Those worms are surprisingly cute.

[@JS-pk8gv]

I'm digging a big hole in my garden now!

[@darkdjordje]

Love the wormy high-fives :p

[@DanielaSerodio]

That was AMAZING play on words! A worm hole taking our N. American forests back in time to savannahs? I see what you did there!

[@kennymartin5976]

Oh there's a new sound! A sound that's underground!!

[@zennyfieldster4220]

Thank gosh for Robin birds to get some of them at least. There crazy in my backyard!!

[@simonj3413]

Now I won't pick up worms I see struggling on the sidewalk.

[@ginourie7]

Emily, your puns are the best! :D

[@mitchelletzkin1321]

LOVE the worm hole joke yo

[@mymyrrah]

Worms, I don't care if you destroy trees, you're amazing

[@lukeboss7853]

“That’s not a snake morty it’s just an earthworm!”

[@jimmccarley3191]

Back sometimes in the 70's or 80's McDonalds experimented with using worms in their big macs. That did not go over so well. Are you telling me they are trying it again? I thought my last big mac tasted kinda strange! And my chicken nuggets whew!

[@saltydiarrhea386]

Probably not as fishing bait. Probably in the wood they brought with them.

[@SpookyTanukiGaming]

I mean as long as it's not completely destroying life I think it's good for ecosystems to change and adapt.

[@kernelpanic2887]

Haha. That joke at the end with the wormhole xD 👍

[@eliscerebralrecyclingbin7812]

Awesome!

[@importantname]

nature at its finest - evolve or cease existence.

[@whtjddn3]

Great Job~! from South Korea

[@biggene3043]

Worms have created a wormhole into a future timeline, we must harness their power.

[@santosfuentes1519]

your videos are so pun tastic

[@Phiteros]

So if worms were partially responsible for the pre ice-age savannah, what happened to them? Did they go extinct?

[@mateogonzalez5678]

Long time no see cool kid, always a pleasure!

[@siddhiraskar5464]

I think too hard...but how the hell is that worm holding that weapon!!!...

[@mankiddyman]

the wormhole pun is genius

[@marthasantos6757]

I love your vids

[@Raizk_]

*Get the shovel, we goin' shoveling*

[@Adrastia]

Earthworms time traveled to the present to save their future!

[@ruexist]

The leader of the earthworm army is Earthworm Sally.

[@kokiriboy99]

you blow my mind sometimes

[@drewbeck5725]

I read that the worms were brought as ballast in the Tabaco trade.

[@colTheMan]

it wasnt really from bait. it was because in ships they used to pack dirt that had worms in it into the rigging

[@austinlindsay]

Two minutes if intelligence topped off by the phrase "a whole nother".

[@LE-kf4ql]

I love how you ended the video.

[@AdamsAppleYT]

So many layers!! Is this Shrek 5?

[@narineramdihall5936]

Spongebob: Squidward! Wormy just laid a bunch of eggs and they're destroying the ecosystem! Squidward: NOT THE ECOSYSTEM!!!!

[@wdpm6424]

From now on I won't feel guilt every time I accidentally step on a worm

[@MrTaji34]

I got so excited when I saw that the U of M helped with this video! That's my school!

[@djdiamonddragonyt3577]

Congrats on 2m

[@lonelyPorterCH]

good luck, there are many trees right now^^

[@arandomperson5811]

0:38 worm sailing a boat!

[@abilashbrian4997]

Very informative and reminds us not to add foreign species to native ecosystem 👍

[@Elliandr]

a problem with this hypothesis: prior to the Europeans, there were actually less forests overall. this is because natives utilized burning techniques to increase the number of edge ecosystems and to create habitats for favorite game which was the result of an inability to domesticate the animals present. in fact, the Great American forests were in large part the result of European activity, most of which growing from that same time. so are you saying that even though there were less forests, the ones that were present were denser? because even without the earthworms I would think that burning swathes of forest would have had quite an impact.

[@tas5622]

You're entirely right, many native Americans and natural processes caused fires which altered ecosystems, and many native plants are quite well adapted to fire environments, some even requiring it as a means of reproduction. In general, this problem affects areas such as New England and the northeast where ice age glaciers spread out, and in certain habitats, such as sugar maple and beech forests, fires are very rare and destructive, since most trees die. However, in the southeast this is not the case as much of the flora is adapted to fire and is still burned today. So, some parts of forest were denser but that really only applied to advanced succession climax sugar maple-beech forests, other types of forests such as oak-hickory forests likely had more fires historically than today, and these other types of forests were not as dense due to fires and possibly a more diverse herbaceous layer.

[@Elliandr]

Well, I'm just thinking of this as a chicken or the egg problem. The premise is that Earthworms introduced by settlers reduced forest density, but if Europeans created the forests to begin with how could that be? And in regards to Native species, one tree in particular that was indigenous to the Appalachian Trail , the black locust tree, specifically spreads via shallow roots rather than deep roots and yet it isn't bothered by the presence of earthworms that push the nutrients deeper down. Maybe because it put it on nitrogen in the soil. It was also indigenous to a few areas in Midwestern states isolated by glacier activity, but Europeans found that this tree was extremely suitable for building and firewood because it was a dense Hardwood with a high BTU rating and grow is extremely fast and spreads even faster so it was cultivated all across the world and actually was the first indigenous North American tree to be exported to Europe where it is also thriving just fine. The only problem with this tree, however, is that it requires full sun and it's easily outcompeted by taller trees so it's typically only naturally found in educause systems. Still, it's an example of a tree from the region highlighted in the video that is not at all harmed by earthworms being in the soil.

[@tas5622]

@@Elliandr Yes it is very tolerant of many things due to its ability to survive harsh environments. Let's take West Virginia for example, which is a part of robinia pseudoacacias native range, and I believe it grows in the harsher environments of the state which include mountain barrens, basically just areas that have very shallow, poor nutrient soils. Fires also occur here frequently as a way to maintain the habitat and is dependent on it or else the barren becomes a moister, perhaps mesophytic forest but it does not stay a barren without fire. Therefore, it is also well adapted to fire and even encouraged by it, as it produces many seedlings after fire (based on USDA government findings and analysis). This is the reason it is so adaptable to many areas and why it does so well. Honestly, I don't think we have to worry about earthworms turning everything into a grassland, that's just complete bogus.

[@StephenMortimer]

The worms are saving us from even worse FOREST FIRES !!

[@gunarsmiezis9321]

No since shrubs and small trees bur easyer.

[@Seadalgo]

Buuuut don't the tree stands have a progression cycle all their own? Can't black locust being able to fix nitrogen at a much higher rate than clover lead to it sprouting over grasses and shrubs, followed by fast growers like tulip then ash/dogwood/aspen then shade intermediate oak/birch/hickory and ultimately shade tolerant beech/maple/sycamore?

[@AlvinLee007]

So, rainforests are being taken out by earthworms? *stabs blade into earthworm*

[@lataluzziegang]

Damn, earthworms are flipping strong dude cxcx

[@buggexx]

I used to love worms! I still love em

[@VanessaM.88]

Cute animations :)

[@ori5021]

so many great puns!

[@ant51006]

I hate when someone opens a super huge can of worms

[@JoseMartinez-df2db]

European colonization had destroyed many lands.

[@orppranator5230]

And helped many peoples.

[@Money_Man55]

@@orppranator5230 not really, it killed a lot of people, just helped themselves

[@gunarsmiezis9321]

@@Money_Man55 Africans and pasific islanders would still be in the stone age as well as the majority of natvies americans.

[@Money_Man55]

@@gunarsmiezis9321 before colonialism the songhai empire had prospered through its control of local and international trade, especially in gold and salt, it was comparable to many empies in Europe. The Ghana empire was the riches place on Earth at it's peak, the malian empire etc.... It's only when imperialism and neo colonialism that Africa needs to deal with corrupt government (thanks to Europe/foreign intervention) and starvation thanks to European puppet government trading super cheap resources

[@Money_Man55]

Same for passifc Islanders, People weren't helpless before European colonialism then magical got better. History shows it's the other way around

[@terrybradford3727]

cool info

[@mattzx003]

Actually, there was once native worm species in North America that was hundreds of times larger than the earthworms of today! I learned about them in a documentary film called, "Tremors (1990)".

[@SendFoodz]

I'm trying to imagine someone coming in on a ship with buckets of worms that survive months of travel and then letting them go some how.

[@dylaneggleston71]

Fungi also is consumed by earthworms, which has great remediation properties, but can compete with mushrooms already growing.