© Christian Lott / MPI Bremen / HYDRABloodworms are just one type of water-dwelling animal that produces laughing gas.
They may be no match for methane-burping cows, but bloodworms are doing their best to make a name for themselves with climate scientists. New research shows that their guts leak "laughing gas" - a powerful greenhouse gas - albeit in amounts too small to significantly affect the climate.
Previously, no water-dwelling animal was known to produce the gas, more properly known as nitrous oxide (N20).
Some land invertebrates such as earthworms are known to produce nitrous oxide, so to see if water invertebrates are also a source, Peter Stief and his colleagues at Aarhus University in Denmark surveyed seven aquatic sites including freshwater creeks, lakes and the seashore.
They collected a wide range of worms, larvae and bugs, placed them in closed vials, and analysed what came off. They found not only that N20 is produced, but that the amount increased with time.
Comment: The above article and this similar one are great examples of the sleeping press, propagating the global warming signal to the public.