Show threadEarthworm 🐌Mar 2

@mrillig

You may thank us ✌️🪱✌️

"Crucially, both field and laboratory data demonstrated a significant reduction in particle size in casts compared to soil (6.48% and 19.8%, respectively), supporting the potential earthworm effects on MP (microplastic) mechanical attrition. Polymer compositions in casts mirrored those in soils, exhibiting a nonselective and passive ingestion pathway. Beyond physical transport, the formation of field biogenic polymer aggregates facilitated chemical aging of MPs, as evidenced by elevated oxidation indices. This process was likely accelerated by the enrichment of plastic-degrading microbial taxa (e.g., Flavobacterium) within casts, which exhibited up to a 35.6-fold increase in relative abundance."

#Earthworms #Microplastics #EcosystemEngineers #SoilBiology #SoilEcology #EnvironmentalToxicology

Lukas VFN 🇪🇺Dec 10

#SeaCows Have Engineered the #PersianGulf’s #Seagrass Ecosystems for Over 20 Million Years https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/ancient-manatee-relative-reveals-sea-cows-have-engineered-arabian-gulfs-seagrass

High abundance of Early #Miocene sea cows from #Qatar shows repeated evolution of seagrass #EcosystemEngineers in Eastern Tethys https://peerj.com/articles/20030/

"This part of the world has been prime #SeaCow habitat for the past 21 million years—it’s just that the sea cow role has been occupied by different species over time."

Allen Tien, MD, MHS mdlogix.com 94,698 田一彦May 9, 2025
#Beavers #EcosystemEngineers www.linkedin.com/posts/mitch-...

are dogs still human's bes...
Bluesky

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Lukas VFN 🇪🇺Jun 10, 2024

How giant earthworms have transformed the Isle of Rum’s landscape https://theconversation.com/how-giant-earthworms-have-transformed-the-isle-of-rums-landscape-231638

"Renowned for a thriving and intricately studied population of around 900 #RedDeer, the #IsleOfRum, part of #Scotland’s Inner #Hebrides, is often considered an outdoor laboratory for scientific research. But the #earthworms on Rum are equally remarkable. These #invertebrates act as #EcosystemEngineers, actively shaping the landscape, often after humans have left their mark on this remote island."

How giant earthworms have transformed the Isle of Rum’s landscape

Earthworms act as ecosystem engineers and over centuries, they have shaped the landscape and changed the soils on the Isle of Rum in Scotland. Here’s how.

The Conversation
BellingenNSWJan 11, 2024

The tyranny of lawnmowing

“I used to think the bandicoots were wildlife of mass destruction invading my lawn, but now I see that they’ve actually liberated me from ever having to mow it again."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/11/tasmanian-garden-wins-prize-for-worlds-ugliest-lawn
#lawns #water #mowing #FossilFuels #consumption #MonoCulture #wildlife #bandicoot #EcosystemEngineers #soil #biodiversity

Tasmanian garden wins prize for world’s ugliest lawn

Winner says people can save water, help animals and free themselves from the tyranny of lawnmowing

The Guardian
Show threadRachel SiegelJan 5, 2023

"The fact that most people know about #beavers is that they build dams. But these structures are more than just a pile of sticks laid in a #stream. They’re hydrological wonders.

Dams form ponds, widen #rivers, and create #wetlands, building all kinds of aquatic habitats that many other animals like #birds and frogs rely on. That’s why beavers are often called #EcosystemEngineers engineers."

https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/23273240/heat-wave-beavers-climate-change

(more)

Beavers are heat wave heroes

Heat waves, fueled by climate change, are tough on wild animals, too. Lucky for them, they have beavers, whose dams help cool the water and air.

Vox
Rachel SiegelJan 4, 2023

Illustration of the #biodoversity found at a #beaver pond, courtesy of Worth a Dam.

#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #EcosystemEngineers #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateResilience #Nature #NatureBasedSolutions #Wetlands #Wildfire #KeystoneSpecies #Biodiversity #WaterQuality #Drought

Show threadRachel SiegelJan 4, 2023

Heidi says, don’t blame the beavers for changes in the arctic. If you like the #arctic the way it was TOO BAD BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN RELEASING #carbon FOR 100 YEARS and didn’t do anything to stop or slow down even when we could have and now its screwed so there. Gosh I wish there was something that could help make it more livable.”

#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #EcosystemEngineers #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateResilience #Nature #Wetlands #Wildfire #KeystoneSpecies #Biodiversity

Show threadRachel SiegelJan 4, 2023

But you can't tell whether a #beaver is male or female just by looking at him or her, unless she is a female who is lactating.

In his book Eager, Ben Goldfarb walks readers through the process used by relocation programs such as the ones operated by the Methow Beaver Project and the Tulalip Tribes.

First, you tip the #beaver, head first, into a cloth sack. Really!!!

(more)

#BeaverRestoration #EcosystemEngineers

https://www.amazon.com/Eager-Surprising-Secret-Beavers-Matter/dp/160358739X

Rachel SiegelJan 3, 2023

Time for a few pics of #beaver kits. Beavers have one litter per year, in the spring. A typical litter is two to five kits. They stay in the lodge for about a month, and are weaned from mother’s milk after two or three weeks. And they are really, really cute. Photos courtesy of Mike Digout.

#ecosystemengineers #keystonespecies #babies #furries