To celebrate the wonderful diversity of earthworms from around the world, we brought earthworm scientists from around the globe together to teach anyone interested in earthworms about the world of earthworms beyond the UK.
Worms of the World Virtual Symposium
The Worms of the World virtual symposium took place on 25 Mar 2023 and featured the following presentations and speakers:
- Earthworms of the World with Sam James
- Phylogenetic Tools to Dig Out the Evolutionary History of Earthworms with Daniel Marchán
- The Giant Wetland Worms of South America with Rumsaïs Blatrix
- The Earthworm Invasion of North America with Katalin Szlávecz
Earthworms of the World
Dr Sam James
Take a journey around the world, detailing some of the weird and wonderful earthworms discovered by Dr Sam James, and the stories behind his research expeditions at home and in the far-flung corners of the world.
Phylogenetic Tools to Dig Out the Evolutionary History of Earthworms
Dr Daniel Fernandez Marchán
The morphology of earthworms is as obscure as their habitat, and this complicates our understanding of their evolutionary relationships and historical biogeography. Dr Daniel Marchán reviews different applications of genetic tools to shed light on these big questions, with an emphasis on the rare, endemic and threatened species.
The Giant Wetland Worms of South America
Rumsaïs Blatrix
The Orinoco Llanos of Columbia and Venezuela were home to a mystery. These tropical wetlands are home to a landscape dominated by densely packed, regularly spaced mounds of soil. These Surales can be up to 5 m in diameter and 2 m tall and cover an area almost the size of Scotland! Rumsaïs Blatrix takes us on a journey to South America to discover how the mystery of the Surales was solved by her research team.
The Earthworm Invasion of North America
Prof Katalin Szlávecz
Earthworms are well-known ecosystem engineers, profoundly affecting soil processes. They are generally considered beneficial organisms that improve soil quality. But what happens when earthworms are introduced to ecosystems that have evolved with no or very different kinds of earthworms? Prof Katalin Szlávecz discusses the impacts of non-native earthworms in the Atlantic region of North America.
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