Sampling Earthworms (IMAGE)

Smithsonian

Sampling Earthworms

Caption

Scott Loss uses a liquid-mustard mixture to sample earthworms. The mustard contains a skin irritant that causes earthworms to come to the surface. A recent decline in ovenbirds (also known as Seiurus aurocapilla), a ground-nesting migratory songbird, in forests in the northern Midwest US is being linked by scientists to a seemingly unlikely culprit: earthworms.

Credit

Photo by Sara Schmelzer Loss

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