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University study uncovers the secret lives of UK garden snail

Researchers track nocturnal snail activity for the first time, using LED lights and time-lapse photography. Snails were tracked over 72 hours, with researchers measuring their speed, distance travelled and exploration habits. Snail numbers have risen in recent years due to favourable breeding conditions. Slugs and snails can carry the lungworm parasite, Angiostrongylus vasorum, which is potentially fatal to dogs.

A ground-breaking study of UK snail behaviour using LED and UV light tracking has found that the nocturnal creatures can explore the length of an average British garden in just one night, reaching a top speed of one metre per hour. (more…)

New Study Reveals How Sensitive U.S. East Coast Regions May Be to Ocean Acidification

By Guest PostApril 1, 2013Environmentacidic, acidic environment, bicarbonate, buffer capacity, carbon dioxide, carbon in ocean, carbonate, carbonic acid, changes in acidity, chemical survey, CO2, co2 levels, coastal ocean acidification, continental scale, coral, corpus christi, dic, dissolved co2, dissolved inorganic carbon, florida strait, galveston, georgia, glaciers, gulf of maine, gulf of mexico, influx of co2, labrador sea, melting sea ice, middle atlantic bight, Mississippi, ocean acidification, offshore, oysters, pteropods, rik wanninkhof, robert h byrne, ronald h brown, snails, texas, total alkalinity, tsung hung peng, university of georgia, us east coast, water ph, whoi, wie jen huang, wie jun cai, xinping hu, zhaohui aleck wang

A continental-scale chemical survey in the waters of the eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico is helping researchers determine how distinct bodies of water will resist changes in acidity. The study, which measures varying levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other forms of carbon in the ocean, was conducted by scientists from 11 institutions across the U.S. and was published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography.

“Before now, we haven’t had a very clear picture of acidification status on the east coast of the U.S.,” says Zhaohui ‘Aleck’ Wang, the study’s lead author and a chemical oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). “It’s important that we start to understand it, because increase in ocean acidity could deeply affect marine life along the coast and has important implications for people who rely on aquaculture and fisheries both commercially and recreationally.” (more…)

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University study uncovers the secret lives of UK garden snail

New Study Reveals How Sensitive U.S. East Coast Regions May Be to Ocean Acidification