The key to predicting climate change? Just study the temperature of earthworm poo, say scientists.

The Daily Mail reports:

Scientists have revealed the key to predicting climate change – and it lies in the excrement produced by earthworms.

Researchers from the University of York and the University of Reading discovered that earthworm faeces – also known as casting – contain tiny granules of calcite.

After keeping different earthworms at different temperatures, they were able to prove that these granules retain a ‘memory’ of the temperature of the air in which they are excreted.

This means that by studying fossilised samples of earthworm poo and testing the residual temperature of the granules inside, scientists can now track changes in the Earth’s climate over thousands of years.

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2358888/The-key-predicting-climate-change-Just-study-temperature-earthworm-poo-say-scientists.html#ixzz2YZeKsUkM