ecosystems Archives

June 23, 2025June 22, 2025

A Partial Solution for Invasive Species

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has suggested a partial solution for invasive species: eat ‘em. Erin Huggins of the CDFW wrote, “Eating invasive species can help protect native wildlife by reducing their numbers and limiting the damage they cause to ecosystems.”

The nutria is an invasive species causing problems in 18 states, particularly in California. These rodents are native to South America but were initially introduced into the United States for the fur trade. Officials thought they had eradicated them from California in the 1970s, but they began to reappear in 2017. Nutrias cause significant problems for farmers and livestock owners, as they eat vegetation right down to the root. Nutrias are even more omnivorous than goats, so they are more destructive.

This is not the first time an invasive species has become an issue. In the 1970s, Asian Carp were introduced into ponds to control the growth of aquatic plants. Four East Asian species were introduced: silver carp, bighead carp, grass carp, and black carp. Some of these species would jump high out of the water when disturbed, creating a hazard for recreational boaters, and elaborate measures have been taken to keep them out of the Great Lakes.

Fish and wildlife officials are now advancing a partial solution for invasive species — making them a food source for humans. Even high-end restaurants now offer nutria and carp meat on their menu. Selling the public on this will take time. Consider that there was a time when Europeans shunned tomatoes, considering them to be poisonous.

The Bible has a good record of banning meat that would be hazardous for human consumption. A familiar prohibition of the Old Testament was against the eating of pork (Deuteronomy 14:8). The Israelites were also told not to eat anything that had already died or any bird or fish that could have eaten contaminated meat, such as vultures, owls, and falcons.

Strong evidence for the inspiration of the Bible is its accuracy in giving the ancient Israelites health guidelines that were far ahead of their time. We rely on science today to provide us with guidelines for healthy eating. A partial solution for invasive species might be to eat them, but a better solution is for humans to avoid upsetting the natural balance in God’s well-designed world.

Reference: “Rodent for Dinner” in The Guardian, March 6, 2025

September 10, 2024September 9, 2024

Protecting Parasites from Extinction

We tend to view parasites as destructive, even repulsive, unwanted nuisances. However, scientists are finding that parasites often perform beneficial roles in the ecosystem. Some scientists think we should be protecting parasites from extinction.

Scientists are concerned that we have not studied the roles of parasites in maintaining a balanced ecosystem. For example, a parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii infects mice, causing them to lose their fear of cats. Cats have an acid in their gut that Toxoplasma gondii needs to reproduce, so the mouse is an intermediate host for the parasite to get into the cat. This appears to be a highly designed system in which a parasite controls the mouse population through cats.

Kayce Bell of the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum said, “If you remove something from an ecosystem, we cannot foresee what the consequences will be.” That is true of familiar plants and animals but may also be true of parasites. Moreover, it seems that some parasites keep other parasites under control. In 2020, scientists who study parasites published a paper in the journal Biological Conservation calling for protecting parasites from extinction, beginning with a study of what parasites exist.

Scientists estimate that 40% of all known animal species on Earth are parasites. The bottom line is that we don’t understand the role parasites play in the natural world. The fact that we don’t know what beneficial things parasites do is a challenge as we struggle to conserve ecosystems worldwide. Everywhere we look, we see a system design that testifies to a Designer.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: “The Problem with Parasites” in Discover magazine for September/October 2024, pages 21-28

February 14, 2023February 13, 2023

Elephants and Ecosystems

Yesterday we talked about ecosystems, what they are, and why they are essential. If you looked at yesterday’s picture, you saw that carbon sequestration was among the “services” provided by ecosystems. Today, there is much concern about atmospheric carbon (carbon dioxide and methane) increasing the “greenhouse effect” and causing global warming. That makes capturing carbon an essential service of ecosystems to protect our survival. One vital area involves African elephants and ecosystems.

Elephants are known as megaherbivores because of their size and the fact that they eat plants. New research has shown that elephants have a “profound” effect on forest ecosystems. We have mentioned before that beavers shape their environment to create ecosystems that support many other life forms. Researchers from Sweden, France, and the United States confirm that elephants are also “ecosystem engineers” that “significantly influence the structure and functioning of ecosystems” such as tropical rainforests in Africa.

The positive connection between elephants and ecosystems involves two aspects of elephant behavior. First, African forest elephants prefer to eat the leaves of trees with low wood density. This is because those leaves contain more protein and less fiber than the ones with high wood density. Secondly, elephants prefer to eat fruit from trees with higher wood density. By eating those fruits, the elephants disperse the seeds of the trees that sequester the most carbon.

Elephants spread more seeds of more plant species than any other animal. The elephant’s diet enables the survival and spread of the trees that store more carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere. At the same time, elephants reduce overcrowding by the lower-density plants, allowing the larger trees to grow. This balance of elephants and ecosystems helps to protect the planet from excess carbon in the atmosphere.

The study concludes that elephant conservation will significantly affect global climate by controlling the amount of atmospheric carbon. God has designed a worldwide system of many ecosystems that make Earth suitable for advanced life to thrive. Our job is to protect the blessings God has given us to enjoy. Who doesn’t enjoy watching elephants?

Reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

February 13, 2023February 13, 2023

Ecosystem Design and Stewardship

An ecosystem is a complex network of living and non-living things interacting with one another in a specific environment. It includes all the living organisms, such as plants, animals, and microorganisms, as well as the non-living components, such as air, water, soil, and climate. These living components are adapted to the non-living components in an interdependent system, with each relying on the others. We see ecosystem design everywhere we look on planet Earth.

Ecosystems exist in water environments, from ponds to streams to rivers to the oceans. They exist on land in forests, mountains, and deserts. They vary from tropical rainforests to frozen tundra. Each ecosystem has a unique balance of species, with each species playing a specific role. This balance is maintained through various mechanisms, including competition, predation, and mutualism.

Ecosystem design provides many vital services affecting human life, such as water filtration, air purification, and food. At the same time, humans have a profound impact on ecosystem management through deforestation, destruction, and pollution. Careless actions of humans can disrupt the delicate balance of ecosystems, leading to a decline in biodiversity, the extinction of essential species, and climate change.

Conservation and management efforts aim to protect and restore ecosystems and maintain their resilience. This involves protecting habitats, reducing pollution, and managing human activities to minimize ecosystem harm. It also requires monitoring and understanding environmental change and taking steps to reduce or correct human-caused impacts. As we protect ecosystems, they provide services critical to life on this planet. That is part of ecosystem design.

An ecosystem is an ecological system. As we think about the multitude of ecosystems, large and small, localized and widespread, we must realize that they are systems. Do systems happen by accident, or do they require intelligent planning? Can complex things come together to form an efficiently-functioning ecosystem on their own? Every living thing consists of many complex systems within the cells, organs, and whole bodies. Ecosystem design involves systems within systems within systems working together in balance.

Can efficient, balanced systems happen without a system designer? If there is a Designer of Earth’s ecosystems, as I believe there is, we owe it to Him to take care of what He has given for our existence and enjoyment. Genesis tells us that God gave humans the job of managing the creatures and ecosystems of planet Earth. (See Genesis 1:28.) We must avoid the rebuke the rich man gave to his unworthy steward in a parable Jesus told. “What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward” (Luke 16:2).