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Earthworms contribute to 6.5% of global grain production
- pvaldes 3y agoThis. This are the kind of things that make a difference in science.
- nine_zeros 3y agoNot the extra ads on social media? /s
- tashoecraft 3y agothanks worms, thorms
- fijal 3y agoIs there a single error bar in the paper? It seems like a guess
- reidjs 3y agoJust recently I was thinking about the expression “Early bird gets the worm.” First off, who even likes to eat worms? Gross. What’s the corollary for night owls? “Night owl gets the rat?” I don’t want to eat rats either. And what type of bird represents everyone else? The Pigeon? Pigeons eat whatever they want. Why am I waking up early for worms and staying up late for rats? Pigeons are eating best out of all the birds and they wake up whenever the hell they want.
- thriftwy 3y agoWho do not like jelly worms? Pigeons has high parasite load, due to cramped living, and feed from dumpster cans. Not cool
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago> “Early bird gets the worm.” First off, who even likes to eat worms? Birds. Hence the saying. The thing about metaphors is that they're not literal.
- eyelidlessness 3y agoWhat’s a kind of bird that goes woosh?
- anothernewdude 3y agoActually metaphors literally are literal. That's why dictionaries can change the meaning of literally to mean figuratively, instead of understanding figurative language.
- truculent 3y agoThe corollary is “the early worm gets the bird”
- amanaplanacanal 3y agoThe early worm should have stayed in bed.
- imperialdrive 3y agoIt is: The early bird gets the worm, but the second rat gets the cheese.
- happytiger 3y agoDon’t you mean, “the early worm gets the Fremen?” I could have my stories confused, but I swear there was a story about worms.
- Joel_Mckay 3y agoDespite some benefit, they were still an invasive species in North America a few centuries ago.
- giantg2 3y agoI think that depends. I believe some areas had some species of earthworms. Others didn't have any.
- Joel_Mckay 3y agoLumbricus terrestris was native to Europe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_earthworms_of_North_America https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_earthworms_of_North_A... Weird to consider the history of ecology, as even the Eastern grey squirrel is considered an invasive species in my area. we need a less pedantic hobby =)
- giantg2 3y agoNot sure what was pedantic. I was merely pointing out that the claim of North America having no native earthworms was not correct.
- Joel_Mckay 3y agoWas intended to sound self-reflective, rather than accusatory friend =)
- fbdab103 3y agoAfter results like this, I would expect more farmers to try seeding their fields with all manner of worms.
- RetroTechie 3y agoWorms will come, and multiply, all by themselves. IF they have stuff to munch on. The great thing about worms is they mix & aerate the soil without disturbing its overall structure. Unlike tilling (which imho should be avoided as much as possible). From the (limited) gardening I've done in my life, some lessons learned: 1) Try to keep something growing at all times, even if it's just grass, a cover crop, or fast growing in-between like lettuce. Even weeds are better than bare soil (imho). 2) Organic material! Don't remove any if it's not harvest, add more if possible. Wood chips, twigs, fall leaves, straw, grass, organic kitchen scraps, even cardboard, as long as it's clean (100% "cold" compostable, no plastic bits etc) it's welcome. Not in the least 'cause it gives the worms something to chew on. This is one of many ways where modern agriculture fails: harvest = entire crop cleared in 1 swoop. And sometimes the waste (like straw) also has uses so often that's removed as well. Leaving very little organic matter in the field. Not to mention repeated destruction of the soil structure. Funny things is science knows the soil below our feet about as 'well' as deep oceans... Many of the critters down there only classified by family, relatively few by individual species. Let alone their lifecycle or feeding habits. It's a free-for-all but unknown world down there.
- sharker8 3y agoSpider plants are great cover for a compost bucket with composting worms in case you are getting into composting.
- stephenitis 3y agoWhat makes a spider plant a great ccompost cover?
- willvarfar 3y agoSpider plants are good for obscuring things because they grow downwards, covering whatever their pot is above?
- pvaldes 3y agoSome years ago I was planting an Imperial Fritillaria bulb, a flower shaped a little like an UFO mothership. Specially with those strange big spots inside The species needs a lot of drainage so I added sand and started to mix it in the dirt with my hands. Light was fading fast in the sunset. To my surprise some short cylinders started glowing from nowhere. It was poisonous green; kryptonite green. Little 2-3cm bars glowing on the kind of fluorescent green that everybody associates with the word radioactive; all around the pot and too close to my fingers. Yuck! I removed my hand really fast and, to my surprise, the lights started to vanish slowly. I touched the soil again and some lights appeared here and there. That stuff was alive!. It was an E.T. moment. That day I learned that even the humble earthworms can be awesome, specially the bioluminiscent ones.
- developer93 3y agoGuess their evolution worked in your case, although seems like a risky strategy in the long term if predators get used to the idea.
- pvaldes 3y agoReleasing luciferasa undergroung when disturbed Is probably aposematic. A way to claim "I taste awful" to rodents and moles, I suppose. There are a few species in US also, like Diplocardia, that glows in electric blue.
- _a_a_a_ 3y agoWhere was this? I've never seen bioluminescence in earthworms in the uk. Very curious, ta
- pvaldes 3y agoEurope
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- Aakash7078 3y ago[flagged]
- unglaublich 3y agoDon't tell Monsanto before they genetically engineer them and replace the natural population of worms with patented ones that have to be killed and replaced each year.
- happytiger 3y agoSo, about that… https://www.sciencealert.com/worlds-most-popular-herbicide-causes-dramatic-convulsions-in-worms https://www.sciencealert.com/worlds-most-popular-herbicide-c... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8027525/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8027525/ https://www.nature.com/articles/srep12886 https://www.nature.com/articles/srep12886 https://www.sbstatesman.com/2014/03/04/under-the-microscope-roundup-and-fertilizer-kill-worms/ https://www.sbstatesman.com/2014/03/04/under-the-microscope-... So what you saying isn’t so far fetched.
- randomdata 3y agoTell, who? Monsanto closed up shop five years ago.
- happytiger 3y agoIf by “closed up shop” you mean “was acquired by Bayer” you’d be spot on. They still make all the glyphosphate roundup products, just under a new, kinder name now. https://www.bayer.com/media/en-us/bayer-closes-monsanto-acquisition/ https://www.bayer.com/media/en-us/bayer-closes-monsanto-acqu...
- randomdata 3y agoYes, when businesses close up shop their assets are acquired by other businesses. Was there something to suggest that they went into the landfill?
- happytiger 3y agoIt wasn’t a bankruptcy asset purchase but a corporate merger. It’s objectively incorrect to suggest they “closed up shop.” That’s just… not what happened. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/06/04/616772911/monsanto-no-more-agri-chemical-giants-name-dropped-in-bayer-acquisition https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/06/04/616772911... https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/07/germanys-bayer-closes-monsanto-deal-plans-to-drop-us-companys-name.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/07/germanys-bayer-closes-monsan...