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Dinosaur Dung Fertilizes Planet, New Research Shows
Science Daily / Science News ^ | October 16, 2017 | Northern Arizona University

Posted on 10/28/2017 3:25:51 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

Christopher Doughty, faculty member in the School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems at Northern Arizona University... "Theory suggests that large animals are disproportionately important to the spread of fertility across the planet... What better way to test this than to compare fertility in the world during the Cretaceous period -- where sauropods, the largest herbivores to exist, roamed freely -- to the Carboniferous period -- a time in Earth's history before four-legged erbivores evolved." During these two periods, plants were buried faster than they could decompose. As a result, coal was formed. Doughty gathered coal samples from mines throughout the U.S. By measuring the coal elemental concentrations, he found elements needed by plants, like phosphorus, were more abundant and much better distributed during the era of the dinosaurs than the Carboniferous. The data also revealed that elements not needed by plants and animals, such as aluminum, showed no difference, suggesting the herbivores contributed to increased global fertility. According to Doughty, these large animals are important not for the quantity of dung they produce, but for their ability to move long distances across landscapes, effectively mixing the nutrients. By increasing the abundance and distribution of elements like phosphorus, plants grow faster, meaning large herbivores are responsible for producing their own food and contributing to their lush habitats... Simply put, fewer large animals may mean less plant growth."

(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: carboniferous; cretaceous; dinosaurs; dungbeetles; godsgravesglyphs; paleontology; phosphorus
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

That was also Darwin’s take on it, there’s more at the, uh, third link up near the top.

Earthworms survived the K-T extinction, and all the other mass extinctions that mark the paleontological era boundaries. Plus, they won’t hunt and eat us, which is an endearing quality.


21 posted on 10/28/2017 3:59:37 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: SunkenCiv

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3qIBHStUc0

You sure about that?


22 posted on 10/28/2017 4:03:00 PM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget (God punishes Conservatives by making them argue with fools. Go Trump!)
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To: SunkenCiv

LOL...a six-year-old student of mine who has a big dog told me yesterday that she wants a HORSE for Christmas. Although there are horses in my community, her home is not on a lot appropriate for horses. So I said to her...”When you walk Bella, do you pick up her poops like you are supposed to?”

“Eyew” she said “Yes!”

“Well”, I said, “If you have a horse, you have to go to his stable every night with boots and a shovel, ‘cuz their poops are YUGE!”

From the expression on her face, I think I just did Santa a big favor. He OWES me!


23 posted on 10/28/2017 4:03:58 PM PDT by left that other site (For America to have CONFIDENCE in our future, we must have PRIDE in our HISTORY... DJT)
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To: NormsRevenge; fieldmarshaldj; Diana in Wisconsin; mairdie; lizma2; Pray All Day; Bon mots; ...

LOL!


24 posted on 10/28/2017 4:16:22 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget

Yum! :)


25 posted on 10/28/2017 4:21:15 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set!)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Does that mean the 4 large hogs I put in the garden will ensure LARGER tomatoes next year?


26 posted on 10/28/2017 4:50:32 PM PDT by oldasrocks (rump)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
I can cook like a master chef. Takes a tad bit of research, but ladies love it. I even do my own clean up. Won't clean toilets and we are a two mower family. Heck I even make pasta from scratch. You would swoon over my poached olive oil dill and scallion salmon done suis vide so I can pay attention to the lady and not be slaving in the kitchen. Yeah, I am a catch. (BTW, add the words chef john to any google recipe search you do. He is corny, but every time I follow his steps exactly it turns out perfect.)


27 posted on 10/28/2017 5:13:24 PM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget (God punishes Conservatives by making them argue with fools. Go Trump!)
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To: Pray All Day

Wow!

Nice termite mound! (No trees nearby, so they have been busy!)


28 posted on 10/28/2017 5:26:37 PM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission
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To: SunkenCiv; Diana in Wisconsin

“Plus, they won’t hunt and eat us, which is an endearing quality.”

Very much So! I know that I could not win a footrace with a velocrapter.

Were would we be without Bees and Worms!

While its sad to think that saber tooth tigers are extinct, it would be sadder to be eaten by one. My thanks go out to nameless generations of aboriginal hunters!


29 posted on 10/28/2017 5:44:30 PM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission (A cold winter: gathering wolf packs crossed frozen lake Mendota and stalked the streets of Madison!)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

I have heard that a pasture is healthiest when there are lots of vegetarian animals grazing and pooping on the land. The poop and urine are perfect for soil enrichment. Vegetarian animals, not dogs or humans.


30 posted on 10/28/2017 5:59:47 PM PDT by Trumpet 1 (US Constitution is my guide.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Welcome back!!!


31 posted on 10/28/2017 7:27:25 PM PDT by JDoutrider
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To: Trumpet 1

According to some ‘garden experts’ peeing on your garden, or on your landscape trees and shrubs is the BEST thing you can do. (Pure Nitrogen, Baby!)

I’m not going THAT far; my Mule makes loads of lovely compost for me. :)


32 posted on 10/28/2017 7:37:51 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set!)
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

the worms were bigger back then.

33 posted on 10/28/2017 7:38:30 PM PDT by Redcitizen
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To: SunkenCiv
they won’t hunt and eat us

Except for... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj7R_2WWdKs

34 posted on 10/28/2017 8:02:03 PM PDT by Paul R. (I don't want to be energy free, we want to be energy dominant in terms of the world. -D. Trump)
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To: SunkenCiv
On another note:

For thousands of years earthworms were the earth movers in he US south. They turned the soil more than any other creature...until now. The invasive Red Fire Ant that entered the US at the port of Mobile in the 1930's are everywhere now and doing the majority of earth moving.

35 posted on 10/28/2017 8:52:35 PM PDT by blam
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To: SunkenCiv

Great Caesar’s ghost! Idiots with a doctorate had to do research to determine that dung is fertilizer. Dear Scotty, we implore you! Please beam us up!


36 posted on 10/28/2017 9:02:25 PM PDT by higgmeister ( In the Shadow of The Big Chicken)
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To: SunkenCiv

WOW! You are right it is just like fertilizer! Who would have thought it possible?
37 posted on 10/28/2017 9:27:22 PM PDT by Kartographer ("We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.")
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To: SunkenCiv

Some of these ideas are a load of fertilizer, but they won’t help the plants.


38 posted on 10/28/2017 9:32:05 PM PDT by TexasRepublic (Socialism is the gospel of envy and the religion of thieves. Socialism is governmental theft!)
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To: SunkenCiv

The CO2 levels at the time of the dinosaurs was 5 times greater than today. CO2 is plant food. Plants were abundant and lush. Plant eating dinosaurs ate them and meat eating dinosaurs ate the plant eaters and as a result a lot of dinosaur crap was abundant.

I did not even need a federal grant to figure this out.


39 posted on 10/28/2017 10:41:28 PM PDT by cpdiii (DECKHAND, ROUGHNECK, GEOLOGIST, PILOT, PHARMACIST, LIBERTARIAN The Constitution is worth dying for.)
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To: sauropod

According to the article, you’re full of it...


40 posted on 10/29/2017 12:48:05 PM PDT by null and void (The internet gave everyone a mouth. It gave no one a brain.)
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