美国国家公共电台 NPR 入侵的蚯蚓正在损害美国和加拿大的森林（在线收听）

Invasive earthworms are taking over forests in parts of the U.S. and Canada

入侵的蚯蚓正在损害美国和加拿大的森林

Earthworms are considered a gardener's best friend, but studies from environmental scientists show that non-native earthworms are harming native species in the northern regions of North America.

蚯蚓被认为是园丁最好的朋友，但环境科学家的研究表明，非本地蚯蚓正在危害北美北部地区的本地物种。

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

马丁内斯，主持人：

Parts of the U.S. and Canada are dealing with hordes of slimy intruders - earthworms.

美国和加拿大的部分地区正在对付成群的粘糊糊的入侵者——蚯蚓。

MALTE JOCHUM: Basically, whatever you have been used to, whatever you evolved with for the last few thousands of years, will now change.

马特·乔楚姆：基本上，无论你过去习惯了什么，无论你在过去几千年里进化了什么，现在都会改变。

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

莱拉·法德尔，主持人：

That's Malte Jochum. He's a soil ecologist from Leipzig University in Germany and one of the authors of a new study about the impact of invasive earthworms on North American forests.

那是马尔特·乔鸿。他是德国莱比锡大学的土壤生态学家，也是一项关于入侵蚯蚓对北美森林影响的新研究的作者之一。

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

（音乐片段）

UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (Singing) Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo.

（唱）嘟嘟，嘟嘟，嘟嘟。嘟嘟，嘟嘟，嘟嘟。

MARTINEZ: Think of worms as nature's happy little workers. They munch on fallen leaves and other vegetation and release nutrients into the soil. But worms from other lands are taking over forests in parts of the U.S. and Canada.

马丁内斯：把虫子想象成大自然快乐的小工人。它们啃食落叶和其他植被，并将养分释放到土壤中。但来自其他国家的蠕虫正在美国和加拿大的部分地区占领森林。

BRUCE SNYDER: There are a whole suite of earthworms that have been invading for the past several hundred years.

布鲁斯·斯奈德：在过去几百年里，有一整套蚯蚓一直在入侵。

FADEL: Bruce Snyder teaches biology at Georgia College & State University, and he says worms from Europe and Asia hitchhiked to America with tourists, livestock, even leftover fishing bait. And once they find their way into a forest, they eat everything.

FADEL：布鲁斯·斯奈德（Bruce Snyder）在乔治亚学院和州立大学（Georgia College&State University）教授生物学，他说，来自欧洲和亚洲的蠕虫带着游客、牲畜，甚至是剩余的鱼饵搭便车来到美国。一旦他们找到进入森林的路，他们就会吃掉一切。

SNYDER: They're basically removing the whole forest floor. They're eating all the leaf litter, all the partially decomposed litter. And that can drastically change a system.

斯奈德：他们基本上是在清除整个森林地面。他们在吃所有的落叶和部分腐烂的落叶。这会极大地改变一个系统。

MARTINEZ: The worms are so ravenous they destroy the ground cover that insects rely on. And as insects fade away, all kinds of plants and animals are at risk.

马丁内斯：这些虫子非常贪婪，它们会破坏昆虫赖以生存的地面覆盖物。随着昆虫逐渐消失，各种植物和动物都面临着危险。

SNYDER: Changing one aspect of the system almost always changes other aspects. That's one of the reasons this recent study is really concerning - is, you know, it's not just the insects; it's - everything in that system is being impacted.

SNYDER：改变系统的一个方面几乎总是改变其他方面。这是最近这项研究真正令人担忧的原因之一——你知道，这不仅仅是昆虫；这是——系统中的一切都受到了影响。

FADEL: Jochum has tips for people who want to help contain the spread of malicious earthworms.

FADEL：Jochum为那些希望帮助遏制恶意蚯蚓传播的人提供了一些建议。

JOCHUM: If you take your bike or you go for a hiking trip in remote areas, clean your tires and boots before you go, and never leave unused fishing bait anywhere. Just take it back home.

JOCHUM：如果你骑自行车或去偏远地区徒步旅行，在出发前要清洁轮胎和靴子，不要将未使用的鱼饵留在任何地方。把它带回家。

MARTINEZ: Remember; only you can stop good earthworms from inching toward the dark side.

马丁内斯：记住；只有你才能阻止好蚯蚓慢慢走向黑暗面。