- Humanity is putting stress on the planet in the form of farms, cities, and global warming
- A scientist created a mathematical model that allowed them to predict the change before it happened
- The scientists have tried to create detailed food webs but have found that there are usually hundreds of thousands of animals inside a food web
- Scientists have found that there are many weak bonds rather than strong bonds inside of a food web
- We have done unplanned experiments such as over fishing cod and hunting land predators such as wolves as well as introduced invasive species
- Scientists found that after a decrease in the wolf population showed a boom in elk and herbivore population. The increased herbivore population caused a decrease in vegetation in the area
- Scientists have found that restoring an ecosystem to its original self is a very difficult process
- Originally scientists believed that recovery for cod would take 5-6 years. This was later found to not be true
- It was later found that the rate of reproduction was also important rather than just simply the structure of the food web
- Cod eggs were even eaten a fish called the forage fish. This lowered the birth rate for the cod
- Cod numbers have fallen to one percent of the number pre-crash but has risen to 30% in recent year
- Food webs can change from hunting, fishing, competition with other species, and climate changes
- Scientists have predicted that preventing ecosystems from flipping is better than reversing ecosystems that have already been flipped
- Equations have been thought up which included reproduction rates and the rate in which species interact with one another
- Scientists are currently developing technology that can foreshadow fluctuating changes
Summary of the AUTHOR
The author of "Ecosystems on the Brink" writes of how ecosystems are changing and the consequences that come along. A detailed food web entangles hundreds of thousands of animals. The author writes of how the right changes even small ones can alter. For example, in a three level trophic level pyramid, removing the top level predator would cause the trophic level between them to bloom decreasing vegetation. Scientists have also found that those changes are substantial and very hard to reverse.
My Summary
I knew that food webs were so intertwined however I did not know how complex and delicate it was. I did not know that removing the top level predator would cause the decline of an ecosystem. For example I didn't know that removing carnivores would increase herbivores dramatically decreasing vegetation. An example of this would be removal of Wolves. The removal of wolves would increase elk numbers. The increased elk population would decrease vegetation ruining the ecosystem. Its pretty crazy how everything is perfect the way it is and causing any type of change would mess up the way everything is. Everything has its own specific role and without it it will all be unbalanced.
So What...?
If all food webs were flipped:
- less carnivorous top level predator
- more herbivores
- less vegetation
- less species
Says Who?
- Carl Zimmer : Frequent contributor to The NY Times. Author and co-author of a dozen books.
- Ecologist Stephen: Carpenter of the University of Wisconsin- Madison
What If..?
All food webs were flipped?
- Less Animals
- Less Vegatation
- Too many herbivores
This reminds me of...
Our Cayote lab. The lab discussed the effect that would occur if they removed cayotes. This article discussed the loss of other top level predators,