Earthworms can act as ecosystem engineers by altering soil structure, which impacts other organisms and ecosystem functioning. Jumping worms (family Megascolecidae) originating in Asia have been spreading in North America, extending their northern range limits to Ontario, Canada in the last decade and to New Brunswick in 2021. At the northern limits of their current range, little research has been done to examine the effects of jumping worms in these new habitats since their recent establishment. Our objectives were to evaluate: (1) how jumping worms impact soil nitrogen and soil carbon; (2) how their presence impacts the abundance of non-native European earthworms (family Lumbricidae); and (3) whether two sampling methods (i.e., mustard solution and wooden discs) are equally effective at detecting jumping worms. We sampled a residential property in Oromocto, New Brunswick, which was the first location where jumping worms were found in the province. Jumping worms did not have significant impacts on the abundance and biomass of European earthworms or soil carbon content in the top 5 cm of the soil, but they did significantly affect soil nitrogen levels. Both sampling methods were equally effective at detecting the presence of jumping worms. Further research is needed in managed landscapes, urban areas, and forests to determine the ecosystem impacts and invasion dynamics of jumping worms in Canada as this invasion progresses.

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测试入侵性跳跃蠕虫在其北部范围限制的影响

蚯蚓可以通过改变土壤结构来充当生态系统工程师，从而影响其他生物和生态系统的功能。原产于亚洲的跳虫（巨蚓科）一直在北美传播，在过去十年中将其北部范围扩大到加拿大安大略省，并于 2021 年扩大到新不伦瑞克省。对于其目前范围的北部范围，几乎没有进行过研究研究跳虫自最近建立以来对这些新栖息地的影响。我们的目标是评估：（1）跳虫如何影响土壤氮和土壤碳；(2) 它们的存在如何影响非本地欧洲蚯蚓（蚓科）的丰度；(3) 两种取样方法（即芥末溶液和木盘）在检测跳虫方面是否同样有效。我们对新不伦瑞克省奥罗莫克托的一处住宅进行了采样，这是该省第一个发现跳虫的地方。跳虫对欧洲蚯蚓的丰度和生物量或土壤表层5厘米的土壤碳含量没有显着影响，但对土壤氮水平有显着影响。两种采样方法在检测跳虫的存在方面同样有效。需要对管理景观、城市地区和森林进行进一步的研究，以确定随着入侵的进展，加拿大跳虫对生态系统的影响和入侵动态。