The scale, magnitude and intensity of animal impactWhat is Animal Impact? Without wildlife, Earth would not be habitable for humans, because it's animals that stabilise ecosystems. It’s a fundamental law of nature that animals (and humans) exist because we are the most likely lifeforms to minimise environmental chaos. Animal impact, therefore, is a measure of how much all wildlife is collectively responsible for creating a habitable Earth. The More all over the world is truly remarkable. Just occasionally an example crops up of something bewildering. In this case, as The Guardian reports, Antarctic scientists have found the nests of 60 million icefish. Stretching over 500km2 the colony is huge, a million times bigger than the maximum 60 nests, previously found.
This led researchers to exclaim that ‘the sheer size of the colony suggests the whole Weddell Sea ecosystem is influenced by these nests.’
There is no need to caveat that suggestion!
Sixty million fish don’t just hover around disconnected from the environment. These fish build construct and recycle the seabed on a huge scale. Icefish co-evolved alongside upwelling in the Weddell Sea, so they are an integral part of the ecosystem, above and around them.
I find it interesting when scientists do not immediately accept the significance of animal impact and the overwhelming importance of these discoveries. The first thing they ask is how it works. We will never know, as the intensity and magnitude of their effect, connects with mind-boggling complexity to Southern Ocean food chains and global food and climate.
Then there will be attempts to ‘protect the ecosystem for the fish’. At this phenomenal scale, the truth is, the fish are the ecosystem and their existence has to be protected. Without the fish there is just seabed. Without ecosystemsHow ecosystems function An ecosystem is a community of lifeforms that interact in such an optimal way that how ecosystems function best, is when all components (including humans and other animals) can persist and live alongside each other for the longest time possible. Ecosystems are fuelled by the energy created by plants (primary producers) that convert the Sun's heat energy More at this scale (without animals) we lose a big component of our habitable planet.
The scale of icefish impact is not unique
Learn to look carefully and you will find this scale of animal impact occurring everywhere. Even among the soil in your garden you’ll find creatures that colonise the world over. Sadly, many of the most abundant colonial animals, such as the penguins in Antarctica, have declined enormously.
One of the reasons why scientists might find it hard to understand the importance of animals for ecosystems is we are constantly studying habitatsWhat is habitat for animals and people? Habitat, hence the word "habitable" describes the natural surroundings in which any animal (or human) lives, that houses basic needs, such as food and shelter. Vegetation, for example, is habitat for animals. On its own, habitat is not necessarily stable or sustainable, which is why it differs from an ecosystem. Habitat in disrepair More devoid of life. Or, we look past the animals, and can only see habitat. Ecologists have never been taught to consider the fact that animals create ecosystems.
Nests of 60 million icefish are a fantastic and rare example of animal impact. At this scale it should be an immediate reminder of how much we depend on wildlife for a habitable Earth.
