, Columnist
How Earthworms Discovered America
Columbus wasn't the only one on the move during the Age of Exploration.
You can't see them, but they’re there.
Image: MPI/Getty ImagesShortly after 1492, earthworms discovered America. Not in any heroic sense, of course -- but once those European worms arrived, they set to work reshaping the structure of American soil and devouring leaf litter that had been a source of food for countless insects, and the birds and mammals that fed on them. Creatures that had thrived died, and others took their place.
In his book “1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created,” Charles Mann quotes University of Minnesota biologist Cindy Hale on this turn of events: “Four centuries ago, we launched this gigantic unplanned ecological experiment,” she said. “We have no idea what the long-term consequences will be.” We’re still being surprised.