<
https://theconversation.com/termites-love-global-warming-the-pace-of-their-wood-munching-gets-significantly-faster-in-hotter-weather-190067>
"When we consider termites, we may think of the danger they can pose to our
houses once they settle in and start eating wood. But in fact, only about 4% of
termite species worldwide are considered pests that might, at some point, eat
your house.
In nature, wood-eating termites play a broad and important role in warm
tropical and sub-tropical ecosystems. In feeding on wood, they recycle
essential nutrients to the soil and release carbon back to the atmosphere.
Our new research, published today in
Science, quantified for the first time
just how much termites love the warmth. The results are striking: we found
termites eat deadwood much faster in warmer conditions. For example, termites
in a region with temperatures of 30℃ will eat wood seven times faster than in a
place with temperatures of 20℃.
Our results also point to an expanding role for termites in the coming decades,
as climate change increases their potential habitat across the planet. And
this, in turn, could see more carbon stored in deadwood released into the
atmosphere."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
