Acid rains alter the usual meal-time preferences of carnivorous plants

Jun 16, 2012 10:21 GMT  ·  By

Researchers from the Loughborough University bring us troubling news: as a result of acid rains, carnivorous plants are so full of nitrogen that they no longer need to eat flies in order to counteract what should be their trademark chemical imbalance.

Apparently, carnivorous plants need to include insects in their diet because the bogs across northern Europe have soils that lack nitrogen.

However, all hail to air pollution, the said plants now get their nitrogen needs satisfied by rainwaters. As specialists explain, “it’s quite likely we’ll see less abundance and perhaps local extinctions from carnivorous species.”

Although this is very good news for the flies living close to such carnivorous plants, what should worry us is that nature is becoming more and more responsive to the damages made by human society.