Invasive earthworms erode soil biodiversity: A meta-analysis Ferlian, Olga Eisenhauer, Nico Aguirrebengoa, Martin Camara, Mariama Ramírez-Rojas, Irene Santos, Fábio Tanalgo, Krizler Thakur, Madhav P. Biodiversity change Biological invasion Ecosystem engineer Soil invertebrates Soil micro-organisms Biological invasions pose a serious threat to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning across ecosystems. Invasions by ecosystem engineers, in particular, have been shown to have dramatic effects in recipient ecosystems. For instance, invasion by earthworms, a below-ground invertebrate ecosystem engineer, in previously earthworm-free ecosystems alters the physico-chemical characteristics of the soil. Studies have shown that such alterations in the soil can have far-reaching impacts on soil organisms, which form a major portion of terrestrial biodiversity. Here, we present the first quantitative synthesis of earthworm invasion effects on soil micro-organisms and soil invertebrates based on 430 observations from 30 independent studies. Our meta-analysis shows a significant decline of the diversity and density of soil invertebrates in response to earthworm invasion with anecic and endogeic earthworms causing the strongest effects. Earthworm invasion effects on soil micro-organisms were context-dependent, such as depending on functional group richness of invasive earthworms and soil depth. Microbial biomass and diversity increased in mineral soil layers, with a weak negative effect in organic soil layers, indicating that the mixing of soil layers by earthworms (bioturbation) may homogenize microbial communities across soil layers. Our meta-analysis provides a compelling evidence for negative effects of a common invasive below-ground ecosystem engineer on below-ground biodiversity of recipient ecosystems, which could potentially alter the ecosystem functions and services linked to soil biota. 2018-03-20T13:33:06Z 2018-03-20T13:33:06Z 2018-01 journal article Ferlian, O.; et al. Invasive earthworms erode soil biodiversity: A meta-analysis. J Anim Ecol.,87:162–172(2018) http://hdl.handle.net/10481/50015 10.1111/1365-2656.12746 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ open access Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License Wiley