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Worm census in UK
David Batty, Guardian
Scientific survey to identify and classify as many types of earthworm found on British soil as possible
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They are one of the common creatures in our gardens and, according to naturalist Charles Darwin, one of the most important on earth, yet little is still known about the earthworm. But a new census of England's earthworms aims to give scientists a comprehensive picture of their numbers and health.

The survey, led by the Natural History Museum, aims to map out which species of earthworms are present in different parts of the country and whether their habitats are under threat from pollution and climate change.

The £500,000-project will see volunteers pouring diluted mustard into holes dug in the ground. The mustard is a harmless irritant to worms but forces them to the surface, allowing different species and their numbers to be recorded.

There are known to be 28 species of earthworm living in England but the survey is focused on the 13 most common and their numbers.

Dr Paul Eggleton, head of soil biodiversity at the Natural History Museum, said: "The 13 most common are the one's we're most interested in because they're found in agricultural land and improve soil fertility – helping farmers grow crops."
(26 November 2008)

Mussels Lose Out As Carbon Dioxide Changes Ocean (audio)
Richard Harris, Morning Edition, NPR
All the carbon dioxide pouring into the atmosphere is making the oceans more acidic — and those effects appear to be striking very close to home.

Scientists have been fretting about what ocean acid will do to coral reefs and certain species of plankton. And a new study now documents a startling and rapid change in ocean acid on an island just off the coast of Washington state.

Ocean chemistry measured from Tatoosh Island found that the ocean there is becoming acidic 10 times faster than expected, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. And the study's author J. Timothy Wootton says the island's ecosystem is changing rapidly as a result.

During an eight-year period, he says, 10 to 20 percent of the mussels on the island have been replaced by acid-tolerant algae.
(25 November 2008)

Honey bee crisis threatens English fruit farmers
Nigel Hunt, Reuters
Where in the United States, fruit farmers pay to have bees trucked thousands of miles to pollinate their crops and in parts of China, humans with feather dusters have taken on the task, in Britain most bees go nature's way.

Britons have a deep nostalgia for home-grown honey and its associations with an ordered rural lifestyle. But here, too, the honey bee population is dwindling, and with winter under way faces a tough fight for survival.

Besides warnings the country will run out of English honey by Christmas, there is a threat to growers of fruits such as apples and pears.
(25 November 2008)

Heinberg: Top of the Food Chain
Richard Heinberg, Post Carbon Institute
Today comes the startling news of a British government report showing a drop in oceanic zooplankton of 73 percent since 1960.

For many people, this may seem relatively inconsequential as compared to daily cataclysmic revelations about the state of the national and global economy. This reaction is understandable: we care first and foremost about our own immediate survival prospects, and a new and greater Depression will mean millions losing their homes, millions more their jobs. It's nothing to look forward to.

It takes some scientific literacy to appreciate the implications of the catastrophic loss of microscopic sea animals. We need to understand that these are food for crustaceans and fish, which are food for sea birds and mammals. We need to appreciate the importance of the oceanic food web in the planetary biosphere.
(25 November 2008)
Re-posting from a few days ago. -BA