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| Great White North |
| Earthworm invasion! |
| 2004-07-15 |
| An earthworm invasion is threatening southern Alberta’s fragile alpine environment, according to scientists, who say the slinky creatures are overrunning the thin soil of the Rocky Mountains west of Calgary. More than a decade after they crawled west from the prairies, the earthworm population in Kananaskis Country has skyrocketed to the point where experts are worried the entire ecology of the area’s forests could be altered. "Any time you have some kind of invasive species, we’re concerned about the impact it might have on other aspects of the ecosystem," said Steve Donelon, parks ecologist for Alberta Community Development. Earthworms have the potential to wreak havoc in mountain environments that are particularly sensitive to change. Researchers have seen earthworm numbers climb as high as 2,500 per square metre in some areas. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #19 Wise move, Mucky. I guessed, together with the rest of those relatively sane in the UK, that David Icke was 'full of shit' back in '91 when he went from straight-laced TV sports presenter one week to self-proclaimed 'son of the godhead', in front of a national audience on a live evening chat show, the next. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-07-15 5:22:53 PM |
| #18 ex-lib is knowe this stuff purdy good. thesepeples are want you think itn funy so you are make they job easier. by the way i am throw away david icke book. he in full of shit to many things. |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2004-07-15 5:11:08 PM |
| #17 Great jokes, everyone. But trailing wife is correct. Dead forests can be a serious problem, negatively affecting other systems. Take the pine beetle infestation in the Rocky Mountains, for example. P.S. Raj--By all means, leave the tinfoil hats for the conspiracy obsessed, but I think the Bildeberg political aims/ideology may bear some scrutiny. Freemasons are simply "Baal" worshipers, and occupy the lower rungs in occultist religion. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-07-15 4:52:16 PM |
| #16 Frank - no, for Sal it's zionist-masonry. The evil Jewbricks... |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-07-15 4:25:05 PM |
| #15 The Hamas charter blames every thing on the Rotary Club. Really. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2004-07-15 4:13:49 PM |
| #14 Looking at the cost of retaining walls I *wish* it were so free. ;) |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-07-15 3:19:20 PM |
| #13 Freemasonry, according to Salhuddin ;-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-07-15 1:53:54 PM |
| #12 If not the Illuminati, then, uh, um, er... Bildeberg? Freemasons? Tinfoil hats must be realigned every 5,000 miles, you know... |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-07-15 1:15:31 PM |
| #11 Actually, this is a realistic concern. Earthworms became extinct in the Americas during the ice ages (I'm not sure which one), and so the flora and fauna here evolved to live in a world where the plant matter breaks down significantly more slowly than in earthworm country. Thus there is a serious threat to, eg, ground nesting woodland birds, herbaceous woodland plants which require a thick mulch of slowly composting leaves, etc. Earthworm castings do enrich the soil, and earthworm tunnels do soften the ground, but in their wake the land is relatively bare, and ripe for invasion from foreign pests. Unfortunately, the problem is unfixable -- earthworm eggs were likely brought over inadvertently during the earliest colonization efforts. We can only hope native animals/plants evolve quickly enough to survive the change. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-07-15 12:58:08 PM |
| #10 where in halfempty. he is be happy to see this. earthworm are probly move becuz they habitat is occupy by peples. |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2004-07-15 10:04:49 AM |
| #9 .com you forgot the Jooooooos....... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-07-15 9:39:05 AM |
| #8 Is the UN aware of this? It could take billions to fix. America, of course, must do it's part sez Kofi. So cough it up. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-07-15 9:33:30 AM |
| #7 Poor Alberta: sounds like it's all gone to helminth. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-07-15 9:18:27 AM |
| #6 May we call it a Kanawormskis situation?:-) |
| Posted by: Cynic 2004-07-15 9:10:29 AM |
| #5 Worms. Why do they hate us? |
| Posted by: Spot 2004-07-15 9:06:26 AM |
| #4 The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out . . . |
| Posted by: Mike 2004-07-15 8:23:01 AM |
| #3 Just waiting for the Earthworm Street® to rise up. At 2,500/m^2, they sure are seething... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-07-15 1:32:46 AM |
| #2 But if it's bad: 1) it's Bush's fault 2) If not Bush, then the US did it 3) If not the US, then it's Global Warming 4) If not Global Warming, then the Illuminati 5) If not the Illuminati, then, uh, um, er... Natural Causes? Naw, couldn't be natural. There's no money in that. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-07-15 1:28:09 AM |
| #1 Earthworm ars the shiters of the planet. Bring it on my slimey friend. They bring top soil. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-07-15 1:19:59 AM |