FEATURED BOOKS AND DVDS
Paperback / $6.00 / 55 Pages
Level: Introductory
Diversity is like motherhood and apple pie. It represents the ideal in an ecological community. Just as variety is the spice of life, so diversity includes not only a large number of species, but variety in species with different body plans. Not only might there be a wide variety of insects, but also spiders, snails, worms, creeping animals, running animals, birds of many descriptions, plants that are small, medium sized and large with differing reproductive strategies, and decomposers which vary from microbes to scavenger animals. Not only will the body plans vary wildly, but so will the lifestyles. There could be parasites, creatures with long life cycles and creatures with short life cycles. Some of these organisms would be represented by large populations, others might be represented by medium numbers or be rare. The locations of these creatures in the community could be scattered, clumped or very hard to find. In short, a diverse community is rich in information and interest!
A diverse community is complex, energy efficient and stable. Disturbances like diseases tend to have minimal impact on this overall community. There is variety of organism at each level of the food pyramid and some organisms even choose food from several different levels of the food pyramid. Bears, for example eat fish, insects, honey, nuts and berries. Their impact on the community is felt at several levels. More diverse communities tend to have complicated relationships and organization. It is easy to appreciate such areas.
Mature communities, that have existed in the same region for a very long time, exhibit reduced levels of photosynthesis (food production) compared to earlier stages in succession. If there is a population with high numbers (such as humans), which depends upon a fast rate of food production, then a mature community cannot supply that. Human populations need high productivity such as we see in monoculture crops. These involve immature communities which are also much less stable. These latter communities are more prone to being disturbed by diseases and natural disasters. Farmers and consumers must accept this and do their best to reduce these costs of agriculture as much as possible. And of course, we want to encourage natural communities to continue to thrive.
A diverse community is in general resistant to outside influences which will change the nature of the community. There are some challenges however which can seriously damage such a community. If a key component of the community is removed, that could, in some circumstances, have a negative effect. Consider one story of what happened when a top predator was removed.
Story of wolf population in Yellowstone National Park
In the American mid-west, wolf populations were eliminated from the region by the early 1900s. Wolf attacks on farmers’ herds had made these top predators highly unpopular and thus the wolves were eliminated. The farmers were happy, but loss of a top predator has costs for the natural area. The grazing animals like elk, bison and deer were very happy about the situation. Without a threat to their numbers, they multiplied and multiplied some more. Not surprisingly, they ate too much plant material in their environment. This led to occasional population crashes of the grazers as there was not enough vegetation for them to eat. As a result of this boom and bust cycle in natural communities, wildlife officials decided to restore the wolf population to Yellowstone National Park (a very large territory). From 1995-1997, 41 wild wolves from Alberta and British Columbia and Montana were released in the park. The wolves quickly established themselves in the park and in a wide radius beyond park boundaries. There are hundreds of wolves to this day in the park and surrounding area. The diet of the wolves in winter is about 90% elk (very large animals of which there are many) and in the summer the wolves also eat deer, bison and smaller animals. The vegetation no longer suffers from overgrazing since the population of grazers does not become too large and everyone, more or less, is happy. The park natural community is now more diverse because the grazers are not able to damage the first level of the food pyramid too much.
So, we have learned that taking an important component of a community away can affect diversity. We see a similar problem when we add a foreign component to a community. Consider, for example, the story of when a foreign insect-consuming toad was added to a tropical rainforest community in north western Australia.
Story of the cane toad in Queensland, Australia
In the tropical coastal region of Australia’s north east coast, there are a number of sugar cane plantations. Sugar cane however with its high proportion of carbohydrates, is very tasty to a number of insects. These insects caused major losses to the crop, but there were few options for discouraging these pests. A government agricultural research agency obtained cane toads from Hawaii. These huge amphibians, some as large as dinner plates, would be just the thing to eat all the greyback cane beetles and other insect pests.
Amphibians, you remember, like frogs, can flip out their sticky tongues to catch tons of insects. Cane toads however come with other features too. They have a poisonous gland that can shoot out a toxic spray to as much as a meter away. This toxin can kill animals as large as dogs. The toads are native to South America but have been carried to other regions by others in the hopes that they can control insect populations.
The cane toads were released into the sugar cane fields of Queensland in 1935. The toads found the sugar cane fields and their insects very unappealing. They hopped into the countryside and began multiplying. Their poisonous condition and their large appetite have had a very negative effect on the local animals and insects. The toads keep moving into new countryside and eating the local organisms. The term ‘invasive’ takes on new meaning with cane toads. This case is an object lesson in how important it is to be very careful what foreign creatures, if any, society might allow to be introduced into a specific location. The horror stories are many and varied. Extreme caution is advised!
However it should be noted that hardly any major food crops for people are native to the country where they are grown. In Australia, the only local food crop is macadamia nuts. In Canada too we saw in the discussion on agriculture, that the main crops come from elsewhere. We obviously need to evaluate each situation on its own merits. So, loss of community components or addition of foreign organisms can affect diversity. So can loss of habitat.
Impact of loss of habitat
When a natural area sheltering an endangered species is threatened, society needs to think carefully how to preserve a place for that creature to thrive. There are so many human interests that seek to convert natural lands into sometimes unnecessary applications. In the city of Edmonton, for example, there was a small woodland that local citizens wanted to change into a skateboard park. Firstly, the trees would be cut down and all the birds and small mammals would be lost. People wanted to eliminate other similar woodlands too. Sometimes they complained that the woods with dead trees were ugly. However when the citizens learned of the biodiversity in these woods such as pileated woodpeckers and interesting plants and butterflies, they changed their minds and began to visit these areas to view and appreciate the wildlife. Preserving natural areas with their contained diversity allows and encourages us to celebrate the wonders of creation.
There are some natural areas however that mankind has been disturbing for many generations, some even from Biblical times. These are forests which today, based on forestry science, we cut according to reasonable standards, and replant with tree seedlings so that a new forest can grow which will similarly be cut to provide lumber and paper for human society. There may be loss of diversity although there are still plenty of wild plants and animals (typical of earlier stages of succession) in these managed forests. One practice is to leave islands of native forest uncut to allow native plants and animals to spread into the harvested areas and thus help maintain diversity. The idea is to disturb the forests as little as possible and yet still obtain the resources we need to support modern life. It would be foolish and irresponsible to stop cutting our forests which represent a renewable resource for us.
So, diversity is an ideal that we value for natural communities. However, at the same time we recognize that there are times and places where we must sacrifice some of this ideal in order that we can live lives of gratitude to God for his provisions and blessings and to provide service to our fellow man.
Order Online
Paperback / $12.00 / 295 Pages / line drawings
Level: Introductory
Diversity is like motherhood and apple pie. It represents the ideal in an ecological community. Just as variety is the spice of life, so diversity includes not only a large number of species, but variety in species with different body plans. Not only might there be a wide variety of insects, but also spiders, snails, worms, creeping animals, running animals, birds of many descriptions, plants that are small, medium sized and large with differing reproductive strategies, and decomposers which vary from microbes to scavenger animals. Not only will the body plans vary wildly, but so will the lifestyles. There could be parasites, creatures with long life cycles and creatures with short life cycles. Some of these organisms would be represented by large populations, others might be represented by medium numbers or be rare. The locations of these creatures in the community could be scattered, clumped or very hard to find. In short, a diverse community is rich in information and interest!
A diverse community is complex, energy efficient and stable. Disturbances like diseases tend to have minimal impact on this overall community. There is variety of organism at each level of the food pyramid and some organisms even choose food from several different levels of the food pyramid. Bears, for example eat fish, insects, honey, nuts and berries. Their impact on the community is felt at several levels. More diverse communities tend to have complicated relationships and organization. It is easy to appreciate such areas.
Mature communities, that have existed in the same region for a very long time, exhibit reduced levels of photosynthesis (food production) compared to earlier stages in succession. If there is a population with high numbers (such as humans), which depends upon a fast rate of food production, then a mature community cannot supply that. Human populations need high productivity such as we see in monoculture crops. These involve immature communities which are also much less stable. These latter communities are more prone to being disturbed by diseases and natural disasters. Farmers and consumers must accept this and do their best to reduce these costs of agriculture as much as possible. And of course, we want to encourage natural communities to continue to thrive.
A diverse community is in general resistant to outside influences which will change the nature of the community. There are some challenges however which can seriously damage such a community. If a key component of the community is removed, that could, in some circumstances, have a negative effect. Consider one story of what happened when a top predator was removed.
Story of wolf population in Yellowstone National Park
In the American mid-west, wolf populations were eliminated from the region by the early 1900s. Wolf attacks on farmers’ herds had made these top predators highly unpopular and thus the wolves were eliminated. The farmers were happy, but loss of a top predator has costs for the natural area. The grazing animals like elk, bison and deer were very happy about the situation. Without a threat to their numbers, they multiplied and multiplied some more. Not surprisingly, they ate too much plant material in their environment. This led to occasional population crashes of the grazers as there was not enough vegetation for them to eat. As a result of this boom and bust cycle in natural communities, wildlife officials decided to restore the wolf population to Yellowstone National Park (a very large territory). From 1995-1997, 41 wild wolves from Alberta and British Columbia and Montana were released in the park. The wolves quickly established themselves in the park and in a wide radius beyond park boundaries. There are hundreds of wolves to this day in the park and surrounding area. The diet of the wolves in winter is about 90% elk (very large animals of which there are many) and in the summer the wolves also eat deer, bison and smaller animals. The vegetation no longer suffers from overgrazing since the population of grazers does not become too large and everyone, more or less, is happy. The park natural community is now more diverse because the grazers are not able to damage the first level of the food pyramid too much.
So, we have learned that taking an important component of a community away can affect diversity. We see a similar problem when we add a foreign component to a community. Consider, for example, the story of when a foreign insect-consuming toad was added to a tropical rainforest community in north western Australia.
Story of the cane toad in Queensland, Australia
In the tropical coastal region of Australia’s north east coast, there are a number of sugar cane plantations. Sugar cane however with its high proportion of carbohydrates, is very tasty to a number of insects. These insects caused major losses to the crop, but there were few options for discouraging these pests. A government agricultural research agency obtained cane toads from Hawaii. These huge amphibians, some as large as dinner plates, would be just the thing to eat all the greyback cane beetles and other insect pests.
Amphibians, you remember, like frogs, can flip out their sticky tongues to catch tons of insects. Cane toads however come with other features too. They have a poisonous gland that can shoot out a toxic spray to as much as a meter away. This toxin can kill animals as large as dogs. The toads are native to South America but have been carried to other regions by others in the hopes that they can control insect populations.
The cane toads were released into the sugar cane fields of Queensland in 1935. The toads found the sugar cane fields and their insects very unappealing. They hopped into the countryside and began multiplying. Their poisonous condition and their large appetite have had a very negative effect on the local animals and insects. The toads keep moving into new countryside and eating the local organisms. The term ‘invasive’ takes on new meaning with cane toads. This case is an object lesson in how important it is to be very careful what foreign creatures, if any, society might allow to be introduced into a specific location. The horror stories are many and varied. Extreme caution is advised!
However it should be noted that hardly any major food crops for people are native to the country where they are grown. In Australia, the only local food crop is macadamia nuts. In Canada too we saw in the discussion on agriculture, that the main crops come from elsewhere. We obviously need to evaluate each situation on its own merits. So, loss of community components or addition of foreign organisms can affect diversity. So can loss of habitat.
Impact of loss of habitat
When a natural area sheltering an endangered species is threatened, society needs to think carefully how to preserve a place for that creature to thrive. There are so many human interests that seek to convert natural lands into sometimes unnecessary applications. In the city of Edmonton, for example, there was a small woodland that local citizens wanted to change into a skateboard park. Firstly, the trees would be cut down and all the birds and small mammals would be lost. People wanted to eliminate other similar woodlands too. Sometimes they complained that the woods with dead trees were ugly. However when the citizens learned of the biodiversity in these woods such as pileated woodpeckers and interesting plants and butterflies, they changed their minds and began to visit these areas to view and appreciate the wildlife. Preserving natural areas with their contained diversity allows and encourages us to celebrate the wonders of creation.
There are some natural areas however that mankind has been disturbing for many generations, some even from Biblical times. These are forests which today, based on forestry science, we cut according to reasonable standards, and replant with tree seedlings so that a new forest can grow which will similarly be cut to provide lumber and paper for human society. There may be loss of diversity although there are still plenty of wild plants and animals (typical of earlier stages of succession) in these managed forests. One practice is to leave islands of native forest uncut to allow native plants and animals to spread into the harvested areas and thus help maintain diversity. The idea is to disturb the forests as little as possible and yet still obtain the resources we need to support modern life. It would be foolish and irresponsible to stop cutting our forests which represent a renewable resource for us.
So, diversity is an ideal that we value for natural communities. However, at the same time we recognize that there are times and places where we must sacrifice some of this ideal in order that we can live lives of gratitude to God for his provisions and blessings and to provide service to our fellow man.
Order Online
Paperback / $6.00 / 59 Pages / Full colour
Level: Introductory
Diversity is like motherhood and apple pie. It represents the ideal in an ecological community. Just as variety is the spice of life, so diversity includes not only a large number of species, but variety in species with different body plans. Not only might there be a wide variety of insects, but also spiders, snails, worms, creeping animals, running animals, birds of many descriptions, plants that are small, medium sized and large with differing reproductive strategies, and decomposers which vary from microbes to scavenger animals. Not only will the body plans vary wildly, but so will the lifestyles. There could be parasites, creatures with long life cycles and creatures with short life cycles. Some of these organisms would be represented by large populations, others might be represented by medium numbers or be rare. The locations of these creatures in the community could be scattered, clumped or very hard to find. In short, a diverse community is rich in information and interest!
A diverse community is complex, energy efficient and stable. Disturbances like diseases tend to have minimal impact on this overall community. There is variety of organism at each level of the food pyramid and some organisms even choose food from several different levels of the food pyramid. Bears, for example eat fish, insects, honey, nuts and berries. Their impact on the community is felt at several levels. More diverse communities tend to have complicated relationships and organization. It is easy to appreciate such areas.
Mature communities, that have existed in the same region for a very long time, exhibit reduced levels of photosynthesis (food production) compared to earlier stages in succession. If there is a population with high numbers (such as humans), which depends upon a fast rate of food production, then a mature community cannot supply that. Human populations need high productivity such as we see in monoculture crops. These involve immature communities which are also much less stable. These latter communities are more prone to being disturbed by diseases and natural disasters. Farmers and consumers must accept this and do their best to reduce these costs of agriculture as much as possible. And of course, we want to encourage natural communities to continue to thrive.
A diverse community is in general resistant to outside influences which will change the nature of the community. There are some challenges however which can seriously damage such a community. If a key component of the community is removed, that could, in some circumstances, have a negative effect. Consider one story of what happened when a top predator was removed.
Story of wolf population in Yellowstone National Park
In the American mid-west, wolf populations were eliminated from the region by the early 1900s. Wolf attacks on farmers’ herds had made these top predators highly unpopular and thus the wolves were eliminated. The farmers were happy, but loss of a top predator has costs for the natural area. The grazing animals like elk, bison and deer were very happy about the situation. Without a threat to their numbers, they multiplied and multiplied some more. Not surprisingly, they ate too much plant material in their environment. This led to occasional population crashes of the grazers as there was not enough vegetation for them to eat. As a result of this boom and bust cycle in natural communities, wildlife officials decided to restore the wolf population to Yellowstone National Park (a very large territory). From 1995-1997, 41 wild wolves from Alberta and British Columbia and Montana were released in the park. The wolves quickly established themselves in the park and in a wide radius beyond park boundaries. There are hundreds of wolves to this day in the park and surrounding area. The diet of the wolves in winter is about 90% elk (very large animals of which there are many) and in the summer the wolves also eat deer, bison and smaller animals. The vegetation no longer suffers from overgrazing since the population of grazers does not become too large and everyone, more or less, is happy. The park natural community is now more diverse because the grazers are not able to damage the first level of the food pyramid too much.
So, we have learned that taking an important component of a community away can affect diversity. We see a similar problem when we add a foreign component to a community. Consider, for example, the story of when a foreign insect-consuming toad was added to a tropical rainforest community in north western Australia.
Story of the cane toad in Queensland, Australia
In the tropical coastal region of Australia’s north east coast, there are a number of sugar cane plantations. Sugar cane however with its high proportion of carbohydrates, is very tasty to a number of insects. These insects caused major losses to the crop, but there were few options for discouraging these pests. A government agricultural research agency obtained cane toads from Hawaii. These huge amphibians, some as large as dinner plates, would be just the thing to eat all the greyback cane beetles and other insect pests.
Amphibians, you remember, like frogs, can flip out their sticky tongues to catch tons of insects. Cane toads however come with other features too. They have a poisonous gland that can shoot out a toxic spray to as much as a meter away. This toxin can kill animals as large as dogs. The toads are native to South America but have been carried to other regions by others in the hopes that they can control insect populations.
The cane toads were released into the sugar cane fields of Queensland in 1935. The toads found the sugar cane fields and their insects very unappealing. They hopped into the countryside and began multiplying. Their poisonous condition and their large appetite have had a very negative effect on the local animals and insects. The toads keep moving into new countryside and eating the local organisms. The term ‘invasive’ takes on new meaning with cane toads. This case is an object lesson in how important it is to be very careful what foreign creatures, if any, society might allow to be introduced into a specific location. The horror stories are many and varied. Extreme caution is advised!
However it should be noted that hardly any major food crops for people are native to the country where they are grown. In Australia, the only local food crop is macadamia nuts. In Canada too we saw in the discussion on agriculture, that the main crops come from elsewhere. We obviously need to evaluate each situation on its own merits. So, loss of community components or addition of foreign organisms can affect diversity. So can loss of habitat.
Impact of loss of habitat
When a natural area sheltering an endangered species is threatened, society needs to think carefully how to preserve a place for that creature to thrive. There are so many human interests that seek to convert natural lands into sometimes unnecessary applications. In the city of Edmonton, for example, there was a small woodland that local citizens wanted to change into a skateboard park. Firstly, the trees would be cut down and all the birds and small mammals would be lost. People wanted to eliminate other similar woodlands too. Sometimes they complained that the woods with dead trees were ugly. However when the citizens learned of the biodiversity in these woods such as pileated woodpeckers and interesting plants and butterflies, they changed their minds and began to visit these areas to view and appreciate the wildlife. Preserving natural areas with their contained diversity allows and encourages us to celebrate the wonders of creation.
There are some natural areas however that mankind has been disturbing for many generations, some even from Biblical times. These are forests which today, based on forestry science, we cut according to reasonable standards, and replant with tree seedlings so that a new forest can grow which will similarly be cut to provide lumber and paper for human society. There may be loss of diversity although there are still plenty of wild plants and animals (typical of earlier stages of succession) in these managed forests. One practice is to leave islands of native forest uncut to allow native plants and animals to spread into the harvested areas and thus help maintain diversity. The idea is to disturb the forests as little as possible and yet still obtain the resources we need to support modern life. It would be foolish and irresponsible to stop cutting our forests which represent a renewable resource for us.
So, diversity is an ideal that we value for natural communities. However, at the same time we recognize that there are times and places where we must sacrifice some of this ideal in order that we can live lives of gratitude to God for his provisions and blessings and to provide service to our fellow man.
Order Online
Paperback / $10.00 / 138 Pages / full colour
Level: Introductory
Diversity is like motherhood and apple pie. It represents the ideal in an ecological community. Just as variety is the spice of life, so diversity includes not only a large number of species, but variety in species with different body plans. Not only might there be a wide variety of insects, but also spiders, snails, worms, creeping animals, running animals, birds of many descriptions, plants that are small, medium sized and large with differing reproductive strategies, and decomposers which vary from microbes to scavenger animals. Not only will the body plans vary wildly, but so will the lifestyles. There could be parasites, creatures with long life cycles and creatures with short life cycles. Some of these organisms would be represented by large populations, others might be represented by medium numbers or be rare. The locations of these creatures in the community could be scattered, clumped or very hard to find. In short, a diverse community is rich in information and interest!
A diverse community is complex, energy efficient and stable. Disturbances like diseases tend to have minimal impact on this overall community. There is variety of organism at each level of the food pyramid and some organisms even choose food from several different levels of the food pyramid. Bears, for example eat fish, insects, honey, nuts and berries. Their impact on the community is felt at several levels. More diverse communities tend to have complicated relationships and organization. It is easy to appreciate such areas.
Mature communities, that have existed in the same region for a very long time, exhibit reduced levels of photosynthesis (food production) compared to earlier stages in succession. If there is a population with high numbers (such as humans), which depends upon a fast rate of food production, then a mature community cannot supply that. Human populations need high productivity such as we see in monoculture crops. These involve immature communities which are also much less stable. These latter communities are more prone to being disturbed by diseases and natural disasters. Farmers and consumers must accept this and do their best to reduce these costs of agriculture as much as possible. And of course, we want to encourage natural communities to continue to thrive.
A diverse community is in general resistant to outside influences which will change the nature of the community. There are some challenges however which can seriously damage such a community. If a key component of the community is removed, that could, in some circumstances, have a negative effect. Consider one story of what happened when a top predator was removed.
Story of wolf population in Yellowstone National Park
In the American mid-west, wolf populations were eliminated from the region by the early 1900s. Wolf attacks on farmers’ herds had made these top predators highly unpopular and thus the wolves were eliminated. The farmers were happy, but loss of a top predator has costs for the natural area. The grazing animals like elk, bison and deer were very happy about the situation. Without a threat to their numbers, they multiplied and multiplied some more. Not surprisingly, they ate too much plant material in their environment. This led to occasional population crashes of the grazers as there was not enough vegetation for them to eat. As a result of this boom and bust cycle in natural communities, wildlife officials decided to restore the wolf population to Yellowstone National Park (a very large territory). From 1995-1997, 41 wild wolves from Alberta and British Columbia and Montana were released in the park. The wolves quickly established themselves in the park and in a wide radius beyond park boundaries. There are hundreds of wolves to this day in the park and surrounding area. The diet of the wolves in winter is about 90% elk (very large animals of which there are many) and in the summer the wolves also eat deer, bison and smaller animals. The vegetation no longer suffers from overgrazing since the population of grazers does not become too large and everyone, more or less, is happy. The park natural community is now more diverse because the grazers are not able to damage the first level of the food pyramid too much.
So, we have learned that taking an important component of a community away can affect diversity. We see a similar problem when we add a foreign component to a community. Consider, for example, the story of when a foreign insect-consuming toad was added to a tropical rainforest community in north western Australia.
Story of the cane toad in Queensland, Australia
In the tropical coastal region of Australia’s north east coast, there are a number of sugar cane plantations. Sugar cane however with its high proportion of carbohydrates, is very tasty to a number of insects. These insects caused major losses to the crop, but there were few options for discouraging these pests. A government agricultural research agency obtained cane toads from Hawaii. These huge amphibians, some as large as dinner plates, would be just the thing to eat all the greyback cane beetles and other insect pests.
Amphibians, you remember, like frogs, can flip out their sticky tongues to catch tons of insects. Cane toads however come with other features too. They have a poisonous gland that can shoot out a toxic spray to as much as a meter away. This toxin can kill animals as large as dogs. The toads are native to South America but have been carried to other regions by others in the hopes that they can control insect populations.
The cane toads were released into the sugar cane fields of Queensland in 1935. The toads found the sugar cane fields and their insects very unappealing. They hopped into the countryside and began multiplying. Their poisonous condition and their large appetite have had a very negative effect on the local animals and insects. The toads keep moving into new countryside and eating the local organisms. The term ‘invasive’ takes on new meaning with cane toads. This case is an object lesson in how important it is to be very careful what foreign creatures, if any, society might allow to be introduced into a specific location. The horror stories are many and varied. Extreme caution is advised!
However it should be noted that hardly any major food crops for people are native to the country where they are grown. In Australia, the only local food crop is macadamia nuts. In Canada too we saw in the discussion on agriculture, that the main crops come from elsewhere. We obviously need to evaluate each situation on its own merits. So, loss of community components or addition of foreign organisms can affect diversity. So can loss of habitat.
Impact of loss of habitat
When a natural area sheltering an endangered species is threatened, society needs to think carefully how to preserve a place for that creature to thrive. There are so many human interests that seek to convert natural lands into sometimes unnecessary applications. In the city of Edmonton, for example, there was a small woodland that local citizens wanted to change into a skateboard park. Firstly, the trees would be cut down and all the birds and small mammals would be lost. People wanted to eliminate other similar woodlands too. Sometimes they complained that the woods with dead trees were ugly. However when the citizens learned of the biodiversity in these woods such as pileated woodpeckers and interesting plants and butterflies, they changed their minds and began to visit these areas to view and appreciate the wildlife. Preserving natural areas with their contained diversity allows and encourages us to celebrate the wonders of creation.
There are some natural areas however that mankind has been disturbing for many generations, some even from Biblical times. These are forests which today, based on forestry science, we cut according to reasonable standards, and replant with tree seedlings so that a new forest can grow which will similarly be cut to provide lumber and paper for human society. There may be loss of diversity although there are still plenty of wild plants and animals (typical of earlier stages of succession) in these managed forests. One practice is to leave islands of native forest uncut to allow native plants and animals to spread into the harvested areas and thus help maintain diversity. The idea is to disturb the forests as little as possible and yet still obtain the resources we need to support modern life. It would be foolish and irresponsible to stop cutting our forests which represent a renewable resource for us.
So, diversity is an ideal that we value for natural communities. However, at the same time we recognize that there are times and places where we must sacrifice some of this ideal in order that we can live lives of gratitude to God for his provisions and blessings and to provide service to our fellow man.
Order Online
Hardcover / $52.00 / 433 Pages
Level: Introductory
Diversity is like motherhood and apple pie. It represents the ideal in an ecological community. Just as variety is the spice of life, so diversity includes not only a large number of species, but variety in species with different body plans. Not only might there be a wide variety of insects, but also spiders, snails, worms, creeping animals, running animals, birds of many descriptions, plants that are small, medium sized and large with differing reproductive strategies, and decomposers which vary from microbes to scavenger animals. Not only will the body plans vary wildly, but so will the lifestyles. There could be parasites, creatures with long life cycles and creatures with short life cycles. Some of these organisms would be represented by large populations, others might be represented by medium numbers or be rare. The locations of these creatures in the community could be scattered, clumped or very hard to find. In short, a diverse community is rich in information and interest!
A diverse community is complex, energy efficient and stable. Disturbances like diseases tend to have minimal impact on this overall community. There is variety of organism at each level of the food pyramid and some organisms even choose food from several different levels of the food pyramid. Bears, for example eat fish, insects, honey, nuts and berries. Their impact on the community is felt at several levels. More diverse communities tend to have complicated relationships and organization. It is easy to appreciate such areas.
Mature communities, that have existed in the same region for a very long time, exhibit reduced levels of photosynthesis (food production) compared to earlier stages in succession. If there is a population with high numbers (such as humans), which depends upon a fast rate of food production, then a mature community cannot supply that. Human populations need high productivity such as we see in monoculture crops. These involve immature communities which are also much less stable. These latter communities are more prone to being disturbed by diseases and natural disasters. Farmers and consumers must accept this and do their best to reduce these costs of agriculture as much as possible. And of course, we want to encourage natural communities to continue to thrive.
A diverse community is in general resistant to outside influences which will change the nature of the community. There are some challenges however which can seriously damage such a community. If a key component of the community is removed, that could, in some circumstances, have a negative effect. Consider one story of what happened when a top predator was removed.
Story of wolf population in Yellowstone National Park
In the American mid-west, wolf populations were eliminated from the region by the early 1900s. Wolf attacks on farmers’ herds had made these top predators highly unpopular and thus the wolves were eliminated. The farmers were happy, but loss of a top predator has costs for the natural area. The grazing animals like elk, bison and deer were very happy about the situation. Without a threat to their numbers, they multiplied and multiplied some more. Not surprisingly, they ate too much plant material in their environment. This led to occasional population crashes of the grazers as there was not enough vegetation for them to eat. As a result of this boom and bust cycle in natural communities, wildlife officials decided to restore the wolf population to Yellowstone National Park (a very large territory). From 1995-1997, 41 wild wolves from Alberta and British Columbia and Montana were released in the park. The wolves quickly established themselves in the park and in a wide radius beyond park boundaries. There are hundreds of wolves to this day in the park and surrounding area. The diet of the wolves in winter is about 90% elk (very large animals of which there are many) and in the summer the wolves also eat deer, bison and smaller animals. The vegetation no longer suffers from overgrazing since the population of grazers does not become too large and everyone, more or less, is happy. The park natural community is now more diverse because the grazers are not able to damage the first level of the food pyramid too much.
So, we have learned that taking an important component of a community away can affect diversity. We see a similar problem when we add a foreign component to a community. Consider, for example, the story of when a foreign insect-consuming toad was added to a tropical rainforest community in north western Australia.
Story of the cane toad in Queensland, Australia
In the tropical coastal region of Australia’s north east coast, there are a number of sugar cane plantations. Sugar cane however with its high proportion of carbohydrates, is very tasty to a number of insects. These insects caused major losses to the crop, but there were few options for discouraging these pests. A government agricultural research agency obtained cane toads from Hawaii. These huge amphibians, some as large as dinner plates, would be just the thing to eat all the greyback cane beetles and other insect pests.
Amphibians, you remember, like frogs, can flip out their sticky tongues to catch tons of insects. Cane toads however come with other features too. They have a poisonous gland that can shoot out a toxic spray to as much as a meter away. This toxin can kill animals as large as dogs. The toads are native to South America but have been carried to other regions by others in the hopes that they can control insect populations.
The cane toads were released into the sugar cane fields of Queensland in 1935. The toads found the sugar cane fields and their insects very unappealing. They hopped into the countryside and began multiplying. Their poisonous condition and their large appetite have had a very negative effect on the local animals and insects. The toads keep moving into new countryside and eating the local organisms. The term ‘invasive’ takes on new meaning with cane toads. This case is an object lesson in how important it is to be very careful what foreign creatures, if any, society might allow to be introduced into a specific location. The horror stories are many and varied. Extreme caution is advised!
However it should be noted that hardly any major food crops for people are native to the country where they are grown. In Australia, the only local food crop is macadamia nuts. In Canada too we saw in the discussion on agriculture, that the main crops come from elsewhere. We obviously need to evaluate each situation on its own merits. So, loss of community components or addition of foreign organisms can affect diversity. So can loss of habitat.
Impact of loss of habitat
When a natural area sheltering an endangered species is threatened, society needs to think carefully how to preserve a place for that creature to thrive. There are so many human interests that seek to convert natural lands into sometimes unnecessary applications. In the city of Edmonton, for example, there was a small woodland that local citizens wanted to change into a skateboard park. Firstly, the trees would be cut down and all the birds and small mammals would be lost. People wanted to eliminate other similar woodlands too. Sometimes they complained that the woods with dead trees were ugly. However when the citizens learned of the biodiversity in these woods such as pileated woodpeckers and interesting plants and butterflies, they changed their minds and began to visit these areas to view and appreciate the wildlife. Preserving natural areas with their contained diversity allows and encourages us to celebrate the wonders of creation.
There are some natural areas however that mankind has been disturbing for many generations, some even from Biblical times. These are forests which today, based on forestry science, we cut according to reasonable standards, and replant with tree seedlings so that a new forest can grow which will similarly be cut to provide lumber and paper for human society. There may be loss of diversity although there are still plenty of wild plants and animals (typical of earlier stages of succession) in these managed forests. One practice is to leave islands of native forest uncut to allow native plants and animals to spread into the harvested areas and thus help maintain diversity. The idea is to disturb the forests as little as possible and yet still obtain the resources we need to support modern life. It would be foolish and irresponsible to stop cutting our forests which represent a renewable resource for us.
So, diversity is an ideal that we value for natural communities. However, at the same time we recognize that there are times and places where we must sacrifice some of this ideal in order that we can live lives of gratitude to God for his provisions and blessings and to provide service to our fellow man.
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