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Abstract Asian pheretimoid earthworms of the genera Amynthas and Metaphire (jumping worms) are leading a new wave of coinvasion into Northeastern and Midwestern states, with potential consequences for native organisms and ecosystem processes. However, little is known about their distribution, abundance, and habitat preferences in urban landscapes—areas that will likely influence their range expansion via human-driven spread. We led a participatory field campaign to assess jumping worm distribution and abundance in Madison, Wisconsin, in the United States. By compressing 250 person-hours of sampling effort into a single day, we quantified the presence and abundance of three jumping worm species across different land-cover types (forest, grassland, open space, and residential lawns and gardens), finding that urban green spaces differed in invasibility. We show that community science can be powerful for researching invasive species while engaging the public in conservation. This approach was particularly effective in the present study, where broad spatial sampling was required within a short temporal window.
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Hot child in the city: Drivers of urban buffelgrass presence in Tucson, Arizona
Abstract Invasive species distributions and ecological impacts in natural ecosystems have been broadly studied, but invasive species urban distributions and impacts on human populations warrant further investigation. Urban areas are highly disturbed environments at high risk of invasion by non‐native species, and urban infrastructure can influence the dispersal and abundance of invasive species. Furthermore, in areas with concentrated human populations, invasive species may pose a risk to human as well as native biota. Here, we examine (1) how high‐traffic roadways and the presence of suitable habitat influence buffelgrass abundance in residential areas and (2) whether buffelgrass differentially invades residential areas across socioeconomic levels and racial diversity indices in Tucson, Arizona. We found that, within residential areas, the presence of vacant lots was positively associated with buffelgrass abundance; however, there was no relationship between other suitable habitat types and buffelgrass abundance. We found no relationship between road type and buffelgrass abundance in residential areas. We found that lower‐income communities were more likely to be invaded by buffelgrass, but there was no relationship between racial diversity index and buffelgrass abundance. Understanding drivers of invasive species presence and abundance in urban areas is necessary to inform urban management strategies to prevent spread to surrounding wildlands.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1924016
- PAR ID:
- 10665173
- Publisher / Repository:
- Conservation Science and Practice
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Conservation Science and Practice
- Volume:
- 7
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2578-4854
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13297
