Higher local earthworm diversity in Europe than in the tropics

Global climate change could alter earthworm communities worldwide Life In any single location, there are typically more earthworms and more earthworm species found in temperate regions than in the tropics. Global climate change could lead to significant shifts in earthworm communities worldwide, threatening the many functions they provide. These are the two main results of a new study published in Science . The research was led by scientists from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), and from Leipzig University. They brought together 140 researchers, including some from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, from across the globe to compile the largest earthworm dataset worldwide, encompassing 6,928 sites in 57 countries. Earthworms are "ecosystem engineers". Earthworms can be found in many ecosystems.