Alberta Earthworm Invasion: Data Collection Sheet
Name:___________________________________
Name of Location
City, Province, Country
Description of Location
Hardwood Forest
Softwood forest
Mixed Forest
Agriculture
Grassland
Shrub
Wetland
Lawn
Garden/Flowerbed
Ditch
Human Impacts: Yes or No
If yes, is it…
Crops
Grazing
Fishing
Paths
Roads
Buildings
Near lake or stream: Look around you? Do you see a body of water?
Yes or No
Forest Floor Litter (mm): This is the layer of decaying material on a forest
floor. To measure, simply take 4 height measurements and average them (add
them together and divide by 4).
Weather: Give a good description of the weather. Is it sunny? Cloudy? Windy?
Raining? Do you know the temperature?
Ground moisture:
Dry
Medium
Sampling Method (circle one)
Flip and Strip
Hand Sample
Mustard Extraction
Midden Count
Classification (select one)
Deep Burrowing Worms
(Anecic Worms)
 Burrow deep into the
ground (up to six feet)
 Burrows are covered by
a pile of feaces and
leaves called a “midden”
 Deeply pigmented with
a lighter tail
 Adults can grow up to 15
cm long
Soil Dwelling Worms
(Endogeic)
 Build permanent
burrows and rarely
come to the surface
 Are unpigmented
 Only come to the
surface if there is very
heavy rainfall
Wet
Litter Dwelling Worms
(Epigeic Worms)
 Live in and consume
the leaf-litter layers
of the forest floor
 Are typically the kind
of worm you would
find in a compost
heap
 Only grow to
between 2 cm and 7
cm long
Length of the worm (cm):