Super Eco

Photo credit: net_efekt, flickr

Need a reason to tread lightly on the planet? How about nine reasons? Go ahead, have a look; we'll wait (warning: if you don't look, you'll have no idea what we're talking about, so go click now. You know you want to).

Now. Why should we care that there are weird animals to make fun of gawk at like the star-nosed mole or the six-foot salamander or the flat turtle or the fish that turns itself inside out? Because species depend on one another. When a species becomes extinct, all other species are affected, at least in some small way. We're still not over the loss of the dodo and the passenger pigeon (although I wouldn't want to be the actual passenger on the pigeon). But we're not just talking animal species here: all species, even plants, are affected.

Here's an example: a while ago, fishermen having trouble competing with whales for the available fish killed off a bunch of whales. Fewer whales meant the killer whales that usually ate baby whales ate seals instead. Fewer seals meant that the killer whales moved on to otters. Fewer otters meant a reduction in urchins and other things otters eat. A reduction in otter-food destroyed the kelp forests, which is where fish larvae hang out before becoming actual fish. Fewer fish larvae meant fewer fish, and the fisherman went hungry.

It all means that we are more connected to everything else on the Earth than we think, and that the Butterfly Effect is real, at least in a way. Want to know more about the earth's biodiversity? Here's a list of hot spots, places around the globe that are either threatened or still have unusual diversity.