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Wood-Rill Fellow and PhD candidate,
Conservation Biology Graduate Program
My research investigates the ecological
consequences and conservation implications of invasive earthworms
in hardwood forests of the western Great Lakes region.
Within the last 150 years humans
introduced a completely new set of species to the western
Great Lakes region, earthworms. Until then ecosystems developed
without “nature's plow” ever since the glaciers
receded approximately 10,000 years ago. Recent research
by the Center for Hardwood Ecology (see
research) documents the significant changes that invading
earthworms cause in hardwood forest soils and understory
plant communities. My research stems from this work to address
the impacts of exotic earthworms across larger regions and
longer periods of time.
The specific objectives of my dissertation
research are to:
- Describe several important stages
of the earthworm invasion in the western Great Lakes region
- Test some of the major factors
that could affect how northern hardwood forest ecosystems
will respond to this invasion; and
- Explore the possible consequences
of earthworm invasion for forest conservation.
I use a combination of observational
and experimental approaches to answer the following overarching
questions:
- How does earthworm distribution
in lakeside mature maple-basswood forests relate to probability
of earthworm introduction, forest floor depth, and understory
plant diversity and cover?
- What factors affect the magnitude
of forest floor disturbance and degree of understory recovery
when earthworms invade maple-basswood forests of the western
Great Lakes region?
- What are the probable consequences
of invasive earthworms for forest conservation and management?
What are appropriate management responses
To learn more about
Andy's research concerning the ecological consequences and
conservation implications of invasive earthworms in hardwood
forests of the western Great Lakes region, click
here. |
University of Minnesota
Department of Forest Resources
115 Green Hall
1530 Cleveland Avenue N.
St. Paul, MN 55108
(612) 624-7732
E-mail: hold0094@umn.edu
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