scholarly journals Nightcrawler commodities: A brief history on the commodification of the humble dew worm

2021 ◽  
pp. 251484862110313
Author(s):  
Joshua Steckley
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Lumbricus Terrestris ◽  
Market Exchange ◽  
Surplus Value ◽  
Gas Stations ◽  
New Class ◽  
Single Region ◽  
Big Box ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
Live Bait

Each year, 500 to 700 million dew worms are sold from thousands of gas stations, convenience stores, big box retailers, making this particular species, Lumbricus terrestris, the most popular live bait for recreational freshwater fisherman across North America. In fishing parlance, these effective bait worms are referred to as “Canadian Nightcrawlers,” not because they are native to the region (they are not) or because they cannot be found elsewhere (they can), but because the entire global supply comes from a stretch of rural land between Toronto and Windsor in Ontario, Canada. How did this simple garden worm become a valuable commodity, and why is production relegated to one single region in the world? In this paper, I rely on newspaper archives and key informant interviews to construct a “capitalist commodification story” that explain why demand for Canadian Nightcrawlers emerged in North America, why the production of nightcrawlers is relegated to southwestern Ontario, and how this lowly living, breathing, squirming creature beneath our feet became a capitalist commodity producing value through competitive markets. In sum, I argue L. terrestris became a capitalist commodity when burgeoning demand from a new class of recreational fishermen increased competition between nightcrawler suppliers. The inability of capital to take hold of the ecological conditions of nightcrawler production relegated the most productive producers to southwestern Ontario who had the contingent privileges of useful soils combined and cheap and efficient labor. The materiality of L. terrestris physiology is thus constitutive of how capital seeks to accumulate surplus value in a peculiar industry. At the same time, this research shows that no matter how peculiar or banal a commodity may be capitalist logics are constantly experimenting with heterogenous peoples and environments to find a way to increase productivity and accumulate surplus value through market exchange.

Do centers of origin have a center?

Paleobiology ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Briggs
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Important Criterion ◽  
Centers Of Origin ◽  
Single Region ◽  
Evolutionary Radiation ◽  
A Current ◽  
Considerable Intensity

A current question being debated with considerable intensity is whether or not certain geographic areas act as centers of evolutionary radiation and supply species to other areas that are less active or less effective in an evolutionary sense. Darwin (1859) was the first to write about centers of origin which he called “single centers of creation.” He argued that each species was first produced within a single region and that it subsequently migrated from that area as far as its powers of migration and subsistence under past and present conditions permitted. Adams (1902), in discussing the influence of the southeastern United States as a center of distribution for the flora and fauna of North America, provided a series of criteria for the determination of “centers of dispersal.” His first, and evidently most important criterion was the location of “the greatest differentiation of a type.”

A Possible New Class of Prehistoric Musical Instruments from New England: Portable Cylindrical Lithophones

2013 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 520-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
New England ◽  
Musical Instruments ◽  
Old World ◽  
The Real ◽  
Acoustical Properties ◽  
New Class

AbstractWith one exception, which has been described as a suspended “kiva bell,” long stone rods have been interpreted throughout the archaeological literature of North America as whetstones or pestles. Two particularly long rods in a collection of prehistoric artifacts from New England raise questions as to the real use of some of these objects. The prevailing interpretations of the two artifacts may be incorrect, or at least incomplete, because the rods lack the kinds of wear that are found on most whetstones or pestles. They also have different acoustical properties from true pestles, which are usually shorter, and are identical in materials, acoustics, and form to probable prehistoric lithophones from the Old World, which can be played on the lap. The identification of the pair of rods as good candidates for being the first known cylindrical, two-toned prehistoric lithophones from New England introduces a new avenue for the study of fossil sounds and rituals in both the region and continent because it is likely that similar artifacts will be examined for characteristic wear, tested acoustically, and recognized as the objects of prestige and ceremony that they may have been in their role as un-suspended musical instruments.

scholarly journals Changes in the genetic structure of an invasive earthworm species (Lumbricus terrestris, Lumbricidae) along an urban – rural gradient in North America

2017 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 265-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Klein ◽  
Erin K. Cameron ◽  
Bastian Heimburger ◽  
Nico Eisenhauer ◽  
Stefan Scheu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
North America ◽  
Lumbricus Terrestris ◽  
Earthworm Species ◽  
Urban Rural

scholarly journals Impacts of climate change on forest product markets: Implications for North American producers

2005 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 669-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent Sohngen ◽  
Roger Sedjo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Key Words Climate Change ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
Timber Markets

This paper examines potential climate change impacts in North American timber markets. The results indicate that climate change could increase productivity in forests in North America, increase productivity in forests globally, and reduce timber prices. North American consumers generally will gain from the potential changes, but producers could lose welfare. If dieback resulting from additional forest fires, increased pest infestation, or storm damage increases appreciably and has market effects, consumers will gain less and producers will lose more than if climate change simply increases the annual flow of timber products by raising forest productivity. Annual producers' surplus losses from climate change in the North American timber sector are estimated to range from $1.4 – $2.1 billion per year on average over the next century, with the higher number resulting from potential large-scale dieback. Within North America, existing studies suggest that producers in northern regions are less susceptible to climate change impacts than producers in southern regions because many climate and ecological models suggest that climates become dryer in the U.S. South. Key words: climate change, impact analysis, timber markets, forest ecosystems

scholarly journals Pan-Continental Droughts in North America over the Last Millennium*

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 383-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin I. Cook ◽  
Jason E. Smerdon ◽  
Richard Seager ◽  
Edward R. Cook
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ◽  
Last Millennium ◽  
Central Plains ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Single Region ◽  
Multiple Regions

Abstract Regional droughts are common in North America, but pan-continental droughts extending across multiple regions, including the 2012 event, are rare relative to single-region events. Here, the tree-ring-derived North American Drought Atlas is used to investigate drought variability in four regions over the last millennium, focusing on pan-continental droughts. During the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), the central plains (CP), Southwest (SW), and Southeast (SE) regions experienced drier conditions and increased occurrence of droughts and the Northwest (NW) experienced several extended pluvials. Enhanced MCA aridity in the SW and CP manifested as multidecadal megadroughts. Notably, megadroughts in these regions differed in their timing and persistence, suggesting that they represent regional events influenced by local dynamics rather than a unified, continental-scale phenomena. There is no trend in pan-continental drought occurrence, defined as synchronous droughts in three or more regions. SW, CP, and SE (SW+CP+SE) droughts are the most common, occurring in 12% of all years and peaking in prevalence during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; patterns involving three other regions occur in about 8% of years. Positive values of the Southern Oscillation index (La Niña conditions) are linked to SW, CP, and SE (SW+CP+SE) droughts and SW, CP, and NW (SW+CP+NW) droughts, whereas CP, NW, and SE (CP+NW+SE) droughts are associated with positive values of the Pacific decadal oscillation and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. While relatively rare, pan-continental droughts are present in the paleo record and are linked to defined modes of climate variability, implying the potential for seasonal predictability. Assuming stable drought teleconnections, these events will remain an important feature of future North American hydroclimate, possibly increasing in their severity in step with other expected hydroclimate responses to increased greenhouse gas forcing.

A new class of south-west English pottery in North America

1990 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. ALLAN ◽  
PETER POPE
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
New Class ◽  
South West

scholarly journals How Artificial Intelligence Improves Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability: A Global Thematic Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-100
Author(s):  
Takudzwa Fadziso
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
North America ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
High Demand ◽  
Resonance Analysis ◽  
The Face ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
Growing Population

In the face of the agricultural sector's challenges, food security with an increasing human population and high demand for food is a significant problem. Traditional methods used by farmers have not been sufficient to meet the food requirements of the growing population. As a result, the agricultural sector has begun to deploy artificial intelligence to meet the demand for food and sustainability. This study was conducted to examine how AI improves farmers' productivity and sustainability. Data were analyzed using centering resonance analysis, t-test, ANOVA, and text mining news articles from 2014-2019 in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Results show that AI is used primarily to increase productivity and efficiency and secondarily to address labor shortages and environmental sustainability concerns. The results at the regional level reflect the active adoption of AI in North America and Europe, with increasing efforts in Asia and Africa.

Alkaline Dissociation Products of Lumbricus Terrestris Hemoglobin Viewed with the STEM

1981 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 434-435
Author(s):  
O. H. Kapp ◽  
M. Ohtsuki ◽  
N. Robin ◽  
S. N. Vinogradov ◽  
A. V. Crewe
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Film ◽  
Lumbricus Terrestris ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Acetate Solution ◽  
Oxygen Carriers ◽  
Complex Molecules ◽  
Thin Carbon ◽  
Thin Carbon Film ◽  
Multiple Copies ◽  
Hill Coefficients

Annelid extracellular hemoglobins are among the largest known proteins (M.W = 3.9 x 106), and together with the hemocyanins are the largest known oxygen carriers. They display oxygen affinities generally higher than those o vertebrate hemoglobins with Hill coefficients ranging from slightly higher than unity to values as high as 5-6. These complex molecules are composed of multiple copies of as many as six different polypeptides and posse: approximately 150 hemes per molecule.The samples were diluted to 100-200 μg/ml with distilled water just before application to a thin carbon film (∽15 Å thick). One percent (w/v) uranyl acetate solution was used for negative staining for 2 minutes and dried in air. The specimens were examined with the high resolution STEM. Their general appearance is that of a hexagonal bilayer (Fig. 1), each layer consisting of six spheroidal subunits. The corner to corner hexagonal dimensic is approximately 300 Å and the bilayer thickness approximately 200 Å.

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