Lumen 21-5, 2.0

Preliminary Rules of Ecology

Posted – September 9, 2021

Irrelevant tid bit – “Just like a man,” Sam said.  “Just like folks.  Put off as long as she could having to be brave, knowing all the time that sooner or later she would have to be brave once so she could keep on calling herself a dog.”

            William Faulkner      “The Bear”

 

The idea to have simple rules of ecology does not come from me.  If you go to https://fs.blog/2016/04/four-laws-of-ecology/ you will find a good discussion of these rules.  This is just my twist on the ecology rules.

 Ecology Rule #1.  You can’t change just one thing.

You likely have heard that if a butterfly flaps its wings in California, it creates a breeze in New York.  Clearly this is an extreme statement, but it captures the concept of the connectivity of all things quite well.  Frequently we are not aware of the changes we are making.  On my eight acres surrounding my house I have reduced the number of eastern red cedar trees (Juniperus virginiana, the same genus as several western trees that are called junipers) because too many grown thickly together shade out

Eastern Red Cedar

understory vegetation, degrading habitat for many wildlife species.  In doing this I have increased the number and vigor of broadleaf plants and reduced the number of eastern red cedars.  This was my goal; however, I likely have also reduced the number of insects that specialize in the use of cedar trees.  My limited knowledge of insects and cedar trees hides this but it is still real and its impacts are unknown. So, I wanted to reduce the number of cedar trees and increase the vigor of understory vegetation, but I also changed the insect population is a way that may or may not be important.  We never have enough information about complex natural systems to identify all the changes we are causing.  Luckily many natural systems are resilient and can maintain their productivity and ecological health despite our blundering around, but not always.

 Ecology Rule #2.  Everything has to go somewhere.

There is no “away” as in to “throw away”.  Until we start sending our

Trash

garbage to Mars everything has to wind up somewhere on Earth.  Frequently we try to sequester toxic wastes so they do not get in our food chain and kill us.  Even if this is successful, the toxic waste did not go away: it is just hiding.

Ecology Rule #3.  There is only so much fresh water.

Surface water (streams, ponds, lakes, etc.); shallow ground water where the aquifer is refilled by rain and surface water; and deep, ancient ground water that is mined when pumped to the surface because

Water Feature

these deep aquifers do not replenish – all of these are the same water, just in different places.  We have become much more efficient in our use of water, and in finding new sources, but we can’t make any new water.  This water limit is an old problem, especially in dry areas such as the U.S. west with a long history of fighting over water.ash

Ecology Rule #4.  Everything that is even a little bit organic gets eaten.

Bacteria are amazing critters.  If you have stored energy in a carbon molecule, a bacterium will find it and eat it.

Ecology Rule #5.  Ninety percent of energy is lost when moving from one trophic level to another. 

This is like real science, with numbers and everything.  Approximately 90 percent of everything you consume is converted to keeping you alive and active, and only about ten percent is used to build your body.  For instance, a cow has to eat 1,000 pounds of grass to make 100 pounds of cow, a human has to eat 100 pounds of cow to make 10 pounds of human, and a wolf has to eat 10 pounds of human to make one pound of wolf (yes, I know this is a bad rap for wolves).  This inefficient energy transfer is why

Cow

you frequently hear folks say that humans should skip the cow and eat the grass to reduce our impact on the environment.  Corn, rice, wheat, barley, oats, and others are all grasses.

You might/possibly/maybe/definitely also apply this 90 percent reduction between trophic levels principle to bureaucracy in government, big corporations, or any large organization.  One hundred percent of the energy (ideas, creativity, accomplishments) is in the first level staff (the worker bees) with a 90 percent loss when moving to the first level of supervision, another ninety percent loss to the regional division level, a ninety percent loss to the regional level supervision, and a ninety percent loss to get to the HMFIC (even though this is a very sexist term).

Another irrelevant observation – “trophic” is a good word – if you learn the language of a discipline, you will be considered an expert even thought you actually know very little.