7 Ways that Extinction of other Animal & Plant species affects you in your everyday life.

Often times when you visit conservation oriented destinations you hear phrases like, “Our project’s aim is to prevent the extinction of such & such a species” or “…to improve the population of such & such a species so that it is not critically endangered any more“. It is so easy though to hear all this & just think, “Poor animals/plants!” but without realizing that it is actually, “Poor you/us” as well. In this article we are going to discuss how the extinction of other animal & plant species (all organisms) has a severe knock-on effect on you, your everyday life and survival.

1. Our survival is dependent on the proper functioning of the ecosystem

The first point of discussion would be how all organisms (including humans) are interconnected in the ecosystem via food chains & food webs. You may recall from primary school that, a food chain shows the movement of energy from one organism to another in different trophic levels. For example, the initial source of energy is the sun, which is then converted to food by plants via photosynthesis. From there the energy is acquired by animals that feed on these plants such as zebra, eland and humans (grazers,  browsers and omnivores respectively). The energy is then transferred to animals like lions, leopards, humans etc (carnivores, omnivores).

So, with this sequence in mind, it means that every animal species in the food chain is important to the health of an ecosystem & removing any one will weaken the environment. A weak environment is not able to purify the air we breathe or the water we drink. It is not able to constantly supply us with the plants & animals we need for medication creation. A weak environment is not able to keep levels of various elements such as carbon at bay to maintain moderate weather patterns & climate. It is not able to control flooding, cyclones or reduce the impacts of droughts. We are experiencing all of the above worldwide and in different parts of Zimbabwe every so often. All of which affect our every day life & it is no longer folktales. For example, the poisonous Chivero water & E. coli bacteria starting to be recorded in borehole water in various parts of Harare, the devastating effects of Cyclones Eline & Idai in the Eastern Highlands, etc.

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Below are some clearer & specific examples of how different sized animals (like elephants or worms) and plants truly affect you & me, should they become extinct.

2. Diseases & viruses spread like veld fire

The ecosystem is such a well thought out system. Within it are organisms with the sole purpose of preventing diseases & viruses from exploding, just by keeping different animal species populations under check. For example, rodents are serious vectors of diseases. Madagascar is an example that is constantly affected by the Bubonic Plague, which is transmitted by fleas hosted by rodents and kills hundreds of people each time it shows up.

Guess why in Zimbabwe we do not have that problem but we have rodents as well…?

This is because we have highly venomous snakes like Mambas, Cobras, Adders etc which feed on these rodents, effectively controlling their populations. In Madagascar on the other hand, they have fewer snakes and not as highly venomous as the ones we have here, therefore, they always struggle with dealing with the rodents’ populations.

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Under normal circumstances, this would not have been a problem even in Madagascar. However, due to our behavior as humans (i.e. not disposing of our refuse properly or as often as we should & just dumping litter everywhere else but the bin) the rats & mice populations are increasing to unnatural levels, particularly in Zimbabwe. There is no any other methods of controlling these rodents which is as effective as snakes feeding on them or us humans getting our act together. Of course many hate snakes with a passion and wish all of them could just become extinct. The reality is that, the extinction of certain snake species would mean that we are heading for serious trouble. We also do not know if at the rate we going at, the snake populations are going to be able to keep up with the ever increasing rodent populations or not. Other types of diseases we can expect should snake populations become threatened or the rodents’ populations spike beyond what the snake populations can cope with are LCMV (Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus), other types of plagues like septicemic and pneumonic plagues and salmonella.

We also have scavengers like hyenas, jackals & vultures which make sure to clean up the environment of dead & rotting animals which, if left will cause numerous serious diseases such as Leptospirosis. Fungi, bacteria and invertebrates like worms and millipedes also patrol the environment for rotting organisms to initiate & see through the decomposition process which help in preventing pandemic diseases. Out of the 11 vulture species in Africa, in Zimbabwe we have 6, and of these 6 species 3 are endangered, 2 are critically endangered and 1 is vulnerable – meaning they are on the road to becoming extinct if we do not stop poisoning them & burning their eggs when we burn forests… Do you see where we are headed?

3. Agriculture is affected

The decomposition process which is carried out by fungi, bacteria, worms, dung beetles and millipedes also makes sure that nutrients go back into the soil for plants (including Agricultural plants) to get the nutrients they need for growth & photosynthesis to take place. Yes, as humans we are trying to come up with all kinds of fertilizers to help with nutrient supplementation, however, the preferred farming soil is always the one already high in nutrients. Supplements, especially chemical ones, will never be effective enough to replace the main source.

Even when it comes to manure, it is thanks to these decomposers like worms that the dead matter is fully transformed into nutrients. If these become extinct it means that the soil is going to lack nutrients and there won’t be much agriculture to talk about or even wild vegetation. Now, considering the way we are using insecticides, pesticides and the way we are disposing of our residential & industrial waste and constructing new residential areas without proper sewerage systems (the waste & chemicals going straight into soil & rivers), the future of the decomposer organisms is not looking good… & neither is ours!

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4. Medication become scarce

After several decades of walking in & out of hospitals and pharmacies for medical treatment, it feels like we have (probably subconsciously) developed a false sense of independence when it comes to our actual dependence on plant & animal species for medicine.

The reality is that, over 50% of the 150 most prescribed medicines are produced from a plant or other natural product. In a 2015 article by Seema Tripathy, it is made clear that plants and animal species play a crucial role in the field of medicine, for example, animals and cultured cell lines are used as in vitro models to determine the cause of diseases, to discover medicines and also to produce vaccines. In the article, Seema also goes on to state that the importance of plant derived products in medicine is invaluable. So you can now imagine if we force some of these plants into extinction, just how much our medical field will suffer. No matter how advanced our technology will become, we will always have to refer back to nature because we are a part of its system and if we stray too far we will only destroy ourselves.

5. Water is contaminated

Nature, through wetlands plays a crucial role in purifying our water systems. Wetlands have specialized plants and soil structures that have purification capabilities. The wetland and riparian soils filter metals, sediments and certain chemicals out of the flowing water, absorbing them. Some toxic compounds are also absorbed out of the water by specialised wetland plants and macrophytes, thereby improving water quality. Pathogens are also degraded by microorganisms in soils and groundwater. Unfortunately, some of the industrial chemicals and residential detergents we are dumping into the rivers due to poor refuse disposal and also the destruction of wetlands for agricultural and construction reasons are driving most of these specialized wetland plants and animal species to extinction.

6. Flooding & droughts become frequent & uncontrollable

Wetland plants and other organisms also act like sponges. They have the ability to slow down water movement, also taking the time to absorb a lot of the water underground, thereby controlling flooding. During drought period, wetlands start releasing that water slowly making sure that we have water all year round in what is referred to as perennial rivers/streams. We had plenty of these rivers in Zimbabwe but unfortunately they are only becoming fewer and fewer. One of the main reasons for this is the destruction of wetlands for agriculture & construction purposes and the extinction of the specialized wetland organisms. The impacts of flooding and drought are also now being experienced in their severity as we have now crippled the parts of nature that are supposed to be helping us. For example, the construction of housing on the Ngango hill in Chimanimani which traditionally was always said to be taboo (with the efforts of protecting the surrounding vegetation which secures the soil & rocks) and in 2019 unfortunately saw us losing many lives to cyclone Idai. It is devastating, it is painful! We need to work with nature for it to protect us & not for it to ‘seemingly’ work against us.

7. The ripple effect of the loss of one species.

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There are species whose effect & impact directly cause an entire ecosystem to collapse should they be lost. Such species are referred to as “keystone” species. Their contribution to the ecosystem can not be easily replaced by other species. An example are the African elephants. They are the only animals that can walk long distances, trampling huge trees, making sure that the savanna grasslands are kept open & grass for grazers continue to thrive.  Elephants also create waterholes by digging dry riverbeds with their mighty tusks during the dry season, allowing other animals to have access to water. Without elephants, the grasslands will just turn into forests, reducing food quantity for grazers which in-turn cause the extinction of several other animals along the food chain. The lack of water during the dry season for the animals will also cause significant deaths, with animals & plants that fail to adapt becoming extinct. All the effects mentioned above, directly affecting humans again just from the loss of a single species, elephants.

Keystone species are not only large animals, they can be small in size as well e.g. African termites. They make up a huge food source for many animals including Pangolins (which are critically endangered). They also construct termite mounds which can continue existing for over 60 years even though the lifespan of the worker termites ranges between one to two years. These termite mounds can be 9 meters high or more, offering safe home to several animals such as tortoise, mongoose and snakes. The termite mounds are also high in nutrition which many plant species benefit from. The mounds contain high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and important micronutrients such as iron and zinc.

Conclusion

Yes! as humans we may have “developed” a modern life where we are no longer hunters and gatherers. We now have accessories to help us get water via a tap, get bottled medication by walking in and out of a pharmacy. We even now have the ability to bottle oxygen and help us breathe when the need arises. All of which is great. The unfortunate reality is that, all this seems to have driven us away from the reality that we are still very much reliant on nature. That tap water is still coming from a river, lake or underground (in the case of a borehole); that medication is still coming from plants, animals and other organisms. Therefore, any form of disturbance we cause to the ecosystem still has a direct impact on our health & survival.

And that is why you should…. Remember to always have a little intimacy in your life & as always I’m talking about Intimacy With Nature 😊