Global Warming: Wildlife is doing its part, it’s time we join the fight
The constant struggle to protect ecosystems and promote climate action has undeniably left a great number of people feeling alone in the fight. Lack of effort from institutions and governments often overloads individuals with responsibility and guilt, sometimes demotivating even the most determined to make a change.
But here’s an interesting consolation: whenever you’re acting to chase a more sustainable present and future, you’re joining a huge company of animals that actively contribute to the capture and storage of carbon dioxide, one of the main human-induced causes of global warming. These animals are more than simply participating in the balance of their ecosystems; they are indispensable in optimizing the environment for efficient carbon capture and storage, which has effects way beyond their local biomes. This article gives an overview of some ways in which animals give a hand in mitigating climate change, as laid out in a publication by O. J. Schmitz and M. Sylvén published on the journal Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development.
Herbivores in grasslands
As expected, herbivores have a massive impact on the landscape of biomes dominated by grass fields and small plants. In the Arctic tundra, which extends in vast regions in North America, Scandinavia, Northern Europe and Asia, herbivore species such as caribou and muskox take part in trampling and grazing. These activities ensure the dominance of short grass and small plants over taller shrubs: by rising above the snowpack, these promote greater sunlight absorption rather than reflection, causing faster snowmelt, which in turn favors light and heat absorption. On another note, trampling compacts the soil, reducing the rate of leaching of the carbon stored within it. A tundra-like environment with fewer caribou, muskox and bison would therefore release a greater amount of methane into the atmosphere, potentially increasing the effect of global warming.
The tundra isn’t the only biome where herbivores act as climate mitigators; in savannah environments, so different in terms of weather and wildlife, animals such as rhinos, buffalo, hippos and zebras take part in a similar dynamic. Their massive consumption of small plants renders the grasslands less densely vegetated, reducing the risk of wildfires expanding for great distances. When endangered species, such as white rhinos, disappear from large savannah areas, the impact of wildfires releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide grows. This case is a prime example of why repopulating efforts for endangered species can be essential for the mitigation of climate change.
Fertilization and nutrient redistribution
We have looked over ways in which herbivores mitigate global warming by reducing the density and size of the vegetation in their biomes; however, the opposite effect can be just as powerful in other environments. Ocean beaches, which are typically poor in nutrients, benefit from the activities of sea turtles: these animals feed in the ocean waters, and defecate on beaches while nesting, leaving behind nutrients that enrich the coastal dune vegetation. A similar fertilization mechanism happens in arid scrublands thanks to giant tortoises; by defecating while foraging, they are able to redistribute nutrients across large areas, promoting denser vegetation growth and increasing carbon capture.
Nutrient redistribution isn’t limited to land-based environments: various whale species participate in a mechanism called the “whale pump”. When whales rise to the surface of the ocean to breathe, they leave behind nutrient-rich fecal plumes, which are used by phytoplankton. These organisms take part in photosynthesis and store carbon dioxide, which then precipitates in the deep sea for long-term storage together with the dead phytoplankton. In short, the whales’ activity allows phytoplankton to prosper and participate in more photosynthesis, capturing more CO2.
The bottom line
These are only a few of the many examples of animals potentially mitigating climate change. Repopulation efforts of endangered herbivores, turtles and marine mammals might have a great impact in the fight, but cannot replace true action concerning human activities. This can serve as a reminder of the beautiful complexity of nature’s precious balance, which we humans took the liberty of destroying. While we continue to run against time to find a net-zero balance within our society, let’s take a closer look at these incredible natural systems, hoping that, someday, ours will be just as advanced.
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