The importance of the oceans, their wildlife and ecosystems

Posters in Scotland have conservationists all of a flutter. They claim that seagulls pollute the sea. The answer to the question: ‘Can seagulls pollute the sea?’ is, yes, in theory. However, if they did, they would have gone extinct a long time ago. It doesn’t mean it can’t happen in the short term but to understand the consequence we need to think in term of 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 and 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. We are always too quick to jump to conclusions about the impact of wildlife being negative. This puts our future at risk.

Can any animal pollute the environment?

Yes. We pollute the environment and we are an animal. In a steady stable-state(of an ecosystem) where free surplus energy is minimised, where there is maximum entropy production and minimum waste. In such a system, there is expected to be relatively small fluctuations in atmospheric and other chemistry and where disruption or disturbance occurs, the resulting changes can be absorbed quickly by a succession of new plants and animals that enter to fill More ecosystem though, this is kept under control. But what do we mean when we say ‘pollution’? What we mean is something called surplus free energyThe energy of a system that is emitted as waste and is not part of ecosystem processes. There is always some free surplus energy as this creates the basis for evolution where new species exploit gaps in the ecosystem where free energy becomes available. Surplus energy can occur as a result of disruption or disturbance. When free surplus energy reaches More. Most energy-containing molecules are based on carbon or nitrogen. For example, ammonium, nitrate, faeces or the bodies of dead animals even. When these are in excess they cause the surrounding environment to collapse. Pollution is most often the consequence of some species becoming too abundant and upsetting the shape of the food pyramid. However, it tends to involve organisms lower down the food chainA single thread in a food web illustrating the chain of animals that eat each other. At the base of the food chain are small high-energy (fast metabolism) animals and at the other end large low metabolism animals. An example would be whales eating krill that eat plankton that eat algae. Or lions that eat gazelles that eat grass. More. Plants are actually the biggest potential sources of pollution as they fix the world’s carbon using powerful sunlight.

The impact of animals is positive even when it’s not

Humans tend to think of impacts as negative but the impact of larger animals like seagulls is usually positive, even when it’s not. When there is an excess of food – including, for example, chips – birds can become more abundant. The chips are also a source of pollution. The seagulls are actually cleaning up another source of waste. But as I discussed in this article, it’s a messy process. Just like on a building site, it takes time to reorganise waste into something useful. Animals are often seen as the harbingers of chaos(Of energy and ecosystems). Ecosystems are thermodynamically driven. Disorder occurs when energy dissipates and becomes more chaotic. For example, the release of hot air into the atmosphere results in that energy is freer to disperse (maximum entropy). The opposite is true when energy is locked into biological processes, when it is stored inside molecules (minimum entropy). Stability in ecosystems occurs More, pollution and inconvenience. The short-term impact might be positive even when it’s not seen that way. What they are really doing is cleaning up our mess! If we have too many gulls, it’s either because we are too abundant, or we are too wasteful. Blaming the gulls won’t make the problem go away.

What good do seabirds actually do?

Seabirds have an enormous impact on nutrientsEnergy and nutrients are the same thing. Plants capture energy from the Sun and store it in chemicals, via the process of photosynthesis. The excess greenery and waste that plants create, contain chemicals that animals can eat, in order to build their own bodies and reproduce. When a chemical is used this way, we call it a nutrient. As we More and weather.

• It’s been shown that areas adjacent to breeding seabirds have significantly more fish life.
• Seabirds transfer and amplify nutrients, creating the basis for coastal health and fisheries.
• The ammonia from seabird poo, when combined with algae on the sea surface, seed clouds and create rainfall on an epic scale.
• Entire cultures and some of the wealthiest places on Earth were built on seabird guano (the other name for seabird poo).

As when it comes to all animals, in order to create our own survival, we have to start respecting the function(Of an ecosystem). A subset of ecosystem processes and structures, where the ecosystem does something that provides an ecosystem service of value to people. More of wildlife. Our own biased perspective tends to contradict the reality, which is that animals are essential for our survival. When we treat them as pests, we risk creating an obstacle to progress, in rebuilding the systems needed for our own futures.