Conservation of native earthworms and the role of the Giant Gippsland Earthworm as a flagship taxon

7 Pages·1997·2.3 MB·English

by  B D Van Praagh

Memoirs ofthe Museum of Victoria 56(2):597-603 (1997)
CONSERVATION OF NATIVE EARTHWORMS AND THE ROLE OF THE
GIANT GIPPSLAND EARTHWORM AS A FLAGSHIP TAXON.
B. D. Van Praagh
Invertebrate Survey Department, Museum ofVictoria, 71 Victoria Crescent. Abbotsford,
Vic. 3067, Australia
Abstract
Van Praagh, B.D., 1997. Conservation of native earthworms and the role of the Giant
Gippsland earthworm as a flagshiptaxon. Memoirsofthe Museum ofVietoria 56(2): 597-
603.
Very little is known ofthe Australian native earthworm fauna, which has been largely
replaced by introduced species in most disturbed areas. TheGiant Gippsland Earthworm,
MegascolidesOustraliS,isoneofthebetterknownearthwormspeciesandhasarousedpublic
curiosity and sympathy due to its gigantism and restricted distribution. The role of M.
auslralisas a flagship taxon is discussed in terms ofits wider value in the conservation of
other earthworm species.
Introduction Wood (1974) stated that 'it is surprising that
more is known about the abundance of intro-
Australia has a very diverse indigenous earth- duced Lumbricidae in New Zealand and Aus-
worm fauna arising from its long geographical tralia than that of the native Megascolecidae'
isolation (Lee, 1985), but little detailed infor- and more than 20 years later this observation
mation exists on the ecology, distribution or still applies. This paper discusses the conser-
conservation status of any native species vation status ofAustralian earthworms and the
(reviewed by Lee, 1985, Kingston and Dyne, roleofthe famous Giant Gippsland Earthworm
1996). The only species of native earthworm as a flagship taxon in promoting the conser-
studied in any detail to date isthe Giant Gipps- vation ofnative earthworm fauna.
land Earthworm, Megascolidesaustralis McCoy
(Van Praagh, 1992, 1994), the first Australian Australia's earthworm fauna
native earthworm to be described. Most avail-
able information regarding native earthworms All Australian native earthworms belong to the
lies in the taxonomic and biogeographic litera- family Megascolecidae (Kingston and Dyne,
ture (e.g., McCoy, 1878; Spencer, 1888; Jamie- 1996) a mainly southern hemisphere group
son, 1981; Dyne, 1984; Abbott, 1994). Museum which occurs over South and Central America,
collectionsare also avaluablesourceofecologi- Africa and south-east Asia. Approximately 325
calinformationonspeciesthroughtheprovision native earthworm species, belonging to 28
ofdetails of habitat or locality data. genera, have been described from Australia
Much information on the ecology of earth- (Kingston and Dyne, 1996). However, knowl-
wormsdeals primarilywith speciesbelongingto edge ofthe indigenous earthworms in different
the European family Lumbricidae which Statesvaries,withtheearthwormfaunaofWest-
includestheintroducedearthwormspeciescom- ern Australia and the Northern Territory par-
monly encountered in Australian gardens. The ticularly poorly known (Abbott, 1994). For
introduced lumbricid Lumbricus terrestris example, only 12 species of earthworms have
Linnaeus, is still commonly used to illustrate a been described from the Northern Territory (R.
'typicalearthworm'inAustralianbiologyclasses Blakemore, pers. comm. 1996).Extrapolationof
and mostbiologytextbooks. Ironically,theexist- the number of new species found from recent
enceofthis species in Australian soils hasyet to surveys by Kingston and Dyne (1996) indicate
beconfirmed (R. Blakemore pers. comm. 1995). that the numberofnative earthworm species in
The assumption that information obtained for Australia is probably well over 1000.
lumbricidscan be transferred directly to megas- In a recent examination of nearly 2000
colecids is unjustified when the major differ- museum and literature records, Abbott (1994)
ences in soils, vegetation types and geological mapped the distribution of the native earth-
history between Australia and the Northern worm fauna of Australia and found the major
Hemisphere are considered (Abbott, 1985b). factorlimitingearthwormdistributionwasrain-
597
598 B.D. VAN I'RAAGH
fall. Earthworms were generally absent in facing slopes. Anecdotal information regarding
regions where rainfall was less than 400 mm. historical distribution patterns suggests that
However, 30 records ofearthworm distribution numbers have declined and the range of the
occurred inareasreceivinglessthan400mm.At specieshascontracted through vegetation clear-
least 16 of these were found to be surviving anceand farmingpractices, particularly plough-
under favourable situations such as waterholes, ing (Smith and Peterson, 1981; Van Praagh,
moist caves, permanent rivers and farm dams 1994). Protection ofnative earthworms may be
(Abbott, 1994). particularly important for species that have a
Changes in soil and vegetation resultingfrom restricted distribution or are naturally rare.
European settlement have led to destruction of
Listing ofthreatened earthworms
someofour indigenousearthworm faunaand to
Worldwide,threespeciesofgiantworms, four
major changes in the distribution and compo- genera of South African Acanthodrilinae and
sition ofearthworms in Australian soils. In gen- two genera ofSouth African microchaetids are
eral, native earthworm species do not survive listed by the International Union for the Con-
the change from native bush to pasture (Lee, servation of Nature (IUCN) Invertebrate Red
1961, Wood, 1974)and the predominantfamily Data Book (Wells et al., 1983). The endemic
in cultivated soil in southern temperate Aus- AcanthodrilinaeofSouth Africa comprise some
tralia is the introduced Lumbricidae (Baker et 90species, mostofwhichareregarded asthreat-
al., 1992a). In disturbed areas of tropical Aus- ened (Ljungstrom, 1972) since they are pre-
tralia, the native earthworm fauna is largely dominantly litter species restricted to indigen-
replaced by a small group ofearthworms from
ous forests which have been reduced to about
the families Glossoscolecidae and Megascoleci-
0.3% of their original range for agriculture or
dae,originally from South andCentralAmerica,
exotic plantations (Ljungstrom, 1972, Wells et
Africa and south-east Asia (Lee, 1991).
al., 1983). Microchaetusspp. and Triogeniaspp.
(Microchaetidae)arecharacteristicofsandyand
Conservation ofearthworms clayey soils of primary grasslands and sav-
annahs. Agricultural practices have reduced the
Vulnerability
available areas ofsuitable habitat by overgraz-
Apart from a recent discussion ofthe conser-
ing, lowering ofthe water table and desertifica-
vationoftheearthworm faunaofthewettropics
tion of the savannas (Reinecke, 1983, Wells et
ofQueensland by Dyneand Wallace (1994), the
cpoonosrelyrvaktnioownns.taMtuasnoyfAhusatvrealeixatnreemaerltyhwloirmmisteids Mali.,cr1o9c8h3a).etTuhse mmiiccrhorcohcaaeettiudss iRnaclpupdeswthhiecghianits
geographical distributions and may be highly thought to be one ofthe largest earthworms in
the world. In Australia, two oligochaetes are
specialisedsuggestingtolerancetoonlyanarrow
range of soil conditions. For example, Dyne documented on threatened species lists. M. aus-
tralis is listed as vulnerable under the Depart-
(1991a) found DigasternothofagiJamieson only ment of Conservation and Natural Resources
Qfureoemnsalanldo,okinouatppianrenWtalryriueniNfaotrimonaalndPcaornk,- tthhrreeaatteenneedd usnpedceiresVilcitsotri(aC'sNRF,lor1a99a5n)daFnadunaas
tinuous rainforest cover. More recently. Dyne
and Wallace (1994) found 45% of new species GuaranteeAct(1988)(Floraand FaunaGuaran-
tee Scientific Advisory Committee, 1991) and
found in the wet tropics ofQueensland's world
heritage area from only single sites. The Lake tehnedanLgaekreed Peudnddeerr tehaerthTwaosrmmaniiasnlirsaterde oasr
Pedder earthworm, Diporochaeta pedderensis
Jamieson,wasdescribed fromasinglespecimen threatened species list (Invertebrate Advisory
collected in 1971 from the beach psammon of Committee, 1994), but is thought to be
extinct.
Lake Pedder in Tasmania. Subsequent searches
for the species following the flooding of Lake Threats to earthworms
Pedder in 1972 failed to find any specimens Vegetation Clearance. Since European settle-
(Dyne, 1991b). Earthworms appearto be highly ment, there has been complete conversion of
susceptible to environmental disturbance. In whole land systems tothe growingofwheat and
Victoria, The Giant Gippsland Earthworm, improved pastures (Frood and Calder, 1987).
Megascolides australis is restricted to approxi- Native earthworms are rarely found in culti-
mately40000 haofthe Bass RiverValleyand is vated soils (Wood, 1974; Abbott and Parker;
extremely patchy within this area, being mainly 1980, Bakeret. al, 1992a.b, 1995; Kingston and
confined to creek banks, gullies and some south Temple-Smith, 1988; Tisdall, 1985; Mele,
CONSERVATION OF NATIVE EARTHWORMS S99
1991). The conversion of land systems to cane Dyne, 1991a). Forexample, the giant rainforest
farming in Queensland is thought to have species Disaster longrMUli Boardman, found at
resulted in the extinction of some earthworm depths of 0.8-1.5 m, is occasionally reported
species (Wells et al., 1983). from areas where its original rainforest veg-
Reasonsforthedisappearanceofnativeearth- etationhasbeencompletely removedand isnow
wormsaftercultivationareunknownbut maybe used for cultivation or housing (Dyne, 1991a).
linkedtotheshiftinthemicroclimatewith clear- Non selectivity usually associated with the geo-
ing of native vegetation and establishment of phagous diet ofsubsoil species has been impli-
pasture(Bakeretal., 1992b; KingstonandDyne, cated as a factor in allowing this species to
1996). This includes changes in sunlight, soil survive habitat alteration (Dyne, 1991a). Gco-
temperature and moisture, removal of food phagous species feed in the deepersoil horizons
sources (particularly important for surface and ingest large quantities ofsoil, in contrast to
feeders), disruption of burrow systems, altered detritivores which feed mainly on plant litter,
soil pH and fertility and the use of chemicals dead roots and other plant debris at ornear the
such as pesticides. Changes in soil microflora, soil surface. Therefore, when the natural veg-
withwhichsomenativespecieshaveasymbiotic etation iscleared, there isa majorchange in the
relationship, may also be important (Kingston nature and quantity of the major food source
and Dyne, 1996). Most native earthworms do available to detritivores. Similarly, Ljungstrom
notsurvivetheinitialcultivationprocesssuch as and Reinecke(1969)and Reinecke(1983) found
conversion of native vegetation to pasture and that only a few of the large endemic subsoil
the direct effects of cultivation on earthworms microchaetidssurvived thecultivation ofSouth
are mainly from studies on introduced earth- African soils, though theirrange hascontracted.
worms. In contrast the litter dwelling Acanthodrilinae
under the same conditions have almost totally
Survival ofspecies in Agricultural Land disappeared.
Somespeciesofnativeearthwormscan persist Clearly small amounts ofremnant vegetation
in cultivated soils. In a study ofthe earthworm will be important forthesurvivalofsome native
fauna of the northern jarrah forest of Western species in agricultural land. Forexample, clear-
Australia, Abbott (1985b) found indigenous ingofnative vegetation onareasoccupied by M.
species both in little disturbed and grossly dis- australis took place between the 1870s and the
turbed sites. Baker (1996) and Mele (1991) 1930s. Even though the extent ofsuitable habi-
found native species ofSpenceriella Michaelsen tat forM. australis has been reduced, the worm
and Heteroporodrilus Jamieson to predominate hasbeenabletosurvivein highlyalteredcircum-
in many pastures in western Victoria. A native stances in refuge areas such as stream banks,
megascolecid, Gemascolex walked Jamieson, roadsides and gullies where the effects ofculti-
was found occasionally to constitute a substan- vation have been less severe. In several cases
tial proportion of the total earthworm popu- wherethespecieswas found alongroadsides, its
lation in pasture soils of the Mt Lofty Ranges distribution did not extend into the adjacent
with densities reaching upto 108 perm- (Baker paddocks (Van Praagh, 1994). Survival of
et al., 1993). Cultivation has actually appeared species along stream banks and road sides may
to create a favourable environment for the be partly encouraged as a result of remnant
indigenousmegascolecidMegascoleximparicys- native vegetation still found in these areas.
tis Michaelsen which is more abundant under Buckerfield (1992) found native earthworms
cultivatedareasandcloveredpasturesthan in its persisting under native vegetation on roadsides
natural habitat of undisturbed bush (Abbott et but not in fields undercrops and attributed this
partly to the availability of food. Baker et al.
al.,Wh1i9l8e5).there have been no detailed studies (1993) suggested the existence ofsome remnant
examiningwhysomeindigenousspeciescansur- Eucalyptus in one cornerofa pasture site in the
vive disturbance such as vegetation clearance, Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia, may be
one reason may be aconsequenceofthespecific responsible for local survival of the native
ecological nicheoccupiedbythespecies. Several Gemascolex lateralis Spencer. Buckerfield
studieshaveshownthatsubsoilspeciesgenerally (1993) has shown that even ifsome indigenous
have the best chance ofsurvival in comparison earthworms survive cultivation or clearing,
to litter and top soil species when native veg- other factors such as the addition offungicides
eWtoaotdio,n 1i9s74c;onMvielrlteerdettoal.,pa1s9t5u5rein(LLeeee,, 11996815;; mtraayliacnonptarsitubruetse,ttohethneairtidveeclsipneec.ieIsnGSeomuatshcoAlues-x
600 B.D. VAN PRAAGH
walkeri Jamieson survived clearing of its orig- earthworm by Windust (1994). The vigorous
inal habitat until a single application of the Pontoscolex corethrurus, already shown to
fungicide Benomyl was made. Thisresulted ina invade undisturbed areas, is also promoted by
marked reduction of G. walkeri numbers with worm breeders as a pasture species for tropical
introduced species becoming more abundant pastures and croplands (Windust, 1994). Exotic
(Buckerfield, 1993). species and possibly some native species are
being moved around Australia through worm
Threatsfrom introducedspecies? farming and breeding. At present, there are no
Approximately 50 species of exotic earth- controls in place and little monitoring of what
worms have been recorded from Australia (R. species are being released and where.
Blakemore, pers. comm. 1995). Most exotic While studies suggest that exotic species are
species are from accidental introductions, pri- mainly confined to disturbed areas and there is
marily from soil in potted plants (Lee, 1985). little evidence of competition between intro-
Distribution ofintroduced earthworms in Aus- duced and native species, very little detailed
tralia is patchy, reflecting chance introductions data exist on the indigenous speciesthat do sur-
and different species predominate in different viveclearingortheeffectson nativeearthworms
regions (Baker et al., 1992b; Baker and Mele, of those exotics that can invade undisturbed
1996). Much earthworm research in Australia is areas. Some ofthese issues are currently being
focusedontryingtoestablish appropriateexotic addressed (G. Baker, pers. comm. 1995). How-
species in cultivated land to improve pro- ever, until more information is available on
ductivity. Thishasled tothesuggestionoftrans- theseissues,cautionshouldbetakenintheredis-
location of exotic earthworm species from a) tribution ofintroduced earthworm species and
other regions ofAustralia and b) overseas (Lee, priority given toward the formulation ofguide-
1985; Rovira et al., 1987; Baker et al., 1992b, lines and monitoring procedures regulating the
1996). The two most popular earthworms used industry.
in worm farming include the Tiger worm Eise-
niafetida(Savigny) and the Red worm Lumbri-
cus rubellus Hoffmeister both introduced
species, which are primarily used in com- Flagship taxa
posting. Not all invertebrates are equal in theirabilityto
Little is known about the invasion ofnative elicit public sympathy or concern for their wel-
habitats by introduced species already in Aus- fare. Flagshiptaxa, also termed 'attention grab-
tralia. Although most introduced species are bers' by Towns and Williams (1993), are recog-
confined to disturbed areas, some have invaded nisedasthosetaxathatareeithercharismaticor
nativevegetatedareas. DyneandWallace(1994) popular and are used to initiate awareness and
expressed concern at the presence ofthe exotic drawattentiontothewiderroleofinvertebrates
Pontoscolexcorethrurus(Muller) in primaryfor- asseriouscomponentsoftheecosystem. M. aus-
est in Queensland. This species is a vigorous tralis is one of the most famous members of
coloniserwhich mayposeathreattotheindigen- Australia's endemic fauna due to its gigantic
ous species since native species rarely coexist size. The species is restricted to a small area of
with P. corethrurus. Dyne and Wallace (1994) the Bass River Valley in South Gippsland, Vic-
suggestedthatthecolonisingspeciesmayinhibit toria. Even though M. australishasbeen known
reinvasion by native species through chemical forover one hundred years and was recognised
interference or changes in soil structure. as vulnerablebythe IUCN in 1983, recentstud-
It is not always clear whether native or intro- ies (Yen et al., 1990; Van Praagh , 1992, 1994)
duced species are involved in introductions or represent the first efforts to address the conser-
translocations for soil improvement. For vation and management issues of an earth-
example, one earthworm commonly used by worm.
worm breeders is known as 'the Blue' or'Indian M. australis is an excellent example of a
Blue'. This species is usually sold as the exotic flagship taxon and fulfils most ofthe desirable
species Perionyx excavatus (Perrier) but it has featuresofflagshiptaxaoutlinedbyNew(1991).
recently been identified (Murphy, 1993) as a Those relevant to M. australis include:
native species dfSpenceriella. The introduced 1. taxonomy well known and easily identifi-
Aporreaodea caliginosa (Savigny), rec- able;
ommended for use in increased pasture pro- 2. ability to elicit public sympathy and
ductivity, is described as an indigenous appeal;
CONSERVATION OF NATIVE EARTHWORMS 601
3. occurrence in areas where other aspects of earthworm translocation within Australia.
conservation are a concern (e.g., conserving Indeed worm farming may present an excellent
theunknownbiodiversityofthesoilfaunaby opportunity for promoting earthworm conser-
aiming to conserve what is already a dimin- vation.
ishing habitat);
4. the actual or potential threatening processes Acknowledgments
canbeidentifiedand responseoftaxonmoni-
tored; and I would like to thank Drs Tim New, Alan Yen
5. facility to influence conservation policy. and Rob Blakemore for valuable comments on
M. australis is a charismatic species that has this manuscript.
aroused public curiosity and sympathy primar-
ily due to its novelty value as a giant and its References
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