Biodiversity Blues
The Grus clan has wandered this planet for millions of years, so we've seen a lot of changes. We've watched temperatures rise and fall. We've observed species come and go and hairy mammals spreading everywhere. We're used to the ebb and flow of life on this planet. But recent changes have worried us.
We need a variety of species to maintain the health of our planet. Biodiversity affects everything from climate to crops. Because species are interdependent, many biologists believe that if an ecosystem loses too many species, the entire system will collapse.
Importance of Predators
We may think of predators as the scary—though often alluring—bad guys in an area. They do eat other animals, after all.
But it really isn't that simple. An INDIVIDUAL animal is not going to benefit from becoming a tiger's lunch, but the health of the prey population as a whole may improves when predators chow down on their weaker members. Without predators, populations explode until illness or starvation take a toll. Indeed scientists at the University of Chicago have conducted an ecosystem analysis that demonstrates that predators are integral to the stability of complex ecosystems.
Don't Forget the Little Guys!
Charismatic animals, like the big cats pictured above, are not the only key members of ecosystems. Every species plays an important role. Although many humans try to keep their homes and gardens as free of insects as possible, this may not be a good strategy if you care about long-term survival. Many Insects make essential contributions to the ecosystem. As their populations succumb to problems like habitat loss and pesticide exposure, we are learning just how essential they are. In some parts of the world, for example, bee colonies are collapsing. The loss of bees affects the health of the food crops that depend on them for fertilization. The bee picture here is busily fertilizing flowers in a California almond orchard.