Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid

 

“When the winds of change blow, some build walls; others build windmills.” Anonymous

Fascinating and diverse are the words that Thor Hanson uses to describe the responses of animals and plants to climate change. As I write this post, between 25 and 85 percent of all species are in the process of relocation. Both plants and animals have the potential to seek different conditions to survive.

 According to Gretta Pecl, a full-time University Professor of marine ecology and founder of the Global Marine Hotspot Network, “we are living through the greatest redistribution of species since the last ice age. Over thirty thousand climate-driven species range shifts have already been observed and measured.”

 “Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid” by Thor Hanson explores the specific changes that various species of plants and animals undergo to survive. With climate change, extreme weather events are more common. Anole lizards, for example, develop larger toe pads to cling to trees more effectively during hurricanes.

  There are many behavioral changes that surprise scientists. The switch experienced by butterfly fish is an example of this. Butterfly fish eat corals. As you may know, corals live in symbiosis with algae, but high temperatures cause stress in them and lead to a phenomenon called coral bleaching. This happens when corals expel the algae that live in symbiosis with them. (Heat waves are also responsible for coral disease, starvation and death).

  Coral bleaching itself wreaks havoc on the entire ecosystem, but the reason I mention coral bleaching here is to explain the behavioral changes of the butterfly fish. To gain access to the coral they need to feed on, butterfly fish act like fierce competitors. However, butterfly fish let go of their hostile behaviors in view of the bleached corals; they become “pacifists”. Bleached corals are a poor meal, so butterfly fish do not waste energy fighting for them.

  Another intriguing example is the situation with the bears in Kodiak Island, located off the Southern coast of Alaska. Everybody knows that salmon is an important component of their diet, but in Kodiak Island something unexpected happened.   When the levels of salmon in the streams began reaching a peak, the bears stopped searching for them; they simply left the fishing area.  The bears pursued the berries instead. Early warm weather had ripened the red elderberries sooner, so the bears chose the berries over the salmon. (By reducing their consumption of salmon, however, there is less available nutrition for scavengers in the surrounding woods).

 

Thor Hanson’s book contains various photographs and illustrations that complement the read. “Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid” kindles our curiosity, as it expounds some of the strategies that plants and animals use to adjust to the challenges of climate change.

  Finally, Thor Hanson poses a crucial question:

What are the human responses to climate change?

  “Seen through the lens of climate change biology, human activities often echo the responses of plants and animals in the wild—moving, adapting, taking refuge. Such parallels are not surprising, because in spite of the complexity of our societies, and the technologies we surround ourselves with, in the end we’re just one more species in a changing world, facing the same climate challenges, and drawing on the same basic toolbox of potential solutions. With one notable difference. Unlike any other organisms on the planet, people have the ability to do more than simply react to climate change. If we so choose, we can alter the behaviors that are causing it to happen.”

  Climate change contributes to food insecurity, starvation, and social conflicts. This is the aspect that is often left out of the conversations:

https://www.sei.org/perspectives/climate-change-amplifies-risks-violent-conflicts-africa/

 

 Here’s a thought-provoking  video:

 

Feel free to visit Thor Hanson’s website to learn more about his works and background:

https://thorhanson.net/

 Kudos to France for banning plastic packaging for nearly all fruits and vegetables:

https://earth.org/france-to-ban-plastic-packaging-for-fruit-and-vegetables-2022/

 

Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

 

“But man is part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.” Rachel Carson

   Working in the logging industry, Suzanne Simard introduced the concept of cooperation among trees; it was based on a discovery for which she was mocked and shunned. Her finding had the potential to turn forest practices upside down. 

  Policies and practices in forestry had been established on the basis of competition as the key to the survival of trees.

  Decades ago, Suzanne Simard’s discovery on the way birch trees support the health of the fir trees was the beginning of an ongoing journey that would study the kind of interaction the field of forestry had ignored for so long: cooperation among trees.

 

You may wonder how trees cooperate with each other when all you’ve heard in school was about competition.

 Just as Albert Frank was fiercely criticized when he introduced the concept of symbiosis, Suzanne Simard was dismissed when she explained the need to let birch trees coexist with fir trees to support the health of the desired fir trees. Birch trees were considered “weeds”; therefore, policies to spray and kill those trees had always been in place.

 Thankfully, Simard found another job at the University of British Columbia and she continued to work hard on her path of research, asking questions that challenged the blindsided system and paved the way to comprehend how trees communicate with each other.

 

Suzanne Simard’s research showed that trees connect underground with the roots of other trees through an intricate network of fungi (the mycorrhizae), and their health and resilience depend on this complex web.

  In her book “Finding the Mother Tree”, Simard details the story of her research and threads into it her own life experiences, delving into her childhood, youth, family relationships, motherhood, and other relevant matters, like her cancer diagnosis and treatment.

 I appreciate how she was able to integrate so many subjects into a thought-provoking book, and I could empathize with her on every aspect of her journey.  

 “I have come full circle to stumble onto some of the indigenous ideals: Diversity matters. And everything in the universe is connected—between the forests and the prairies, the land and the water, the sky and the soil, the spirits and the living, the people and all other creatures.”

  

Suzanne Simard also focuses on the role of Mother trees. These are the oldest trees in a forest, and they are pivotal to the survival of young seedlings and various other trees, for they provide nourishment, making the forest strong and resilient. Mother trees are the foundation that underpins the integrity of a forest, and they are vital to the diversity of the woods.

  Simard reveals the power of her scientific observations by adding poetical reflections:

  “Imagine the flow of energy from the Mother Trees as powerful as the ocean tide, as strong as the sun’s rays, as irrepressible as the wind in the mountains, as unstoppable as a mother protecting her child. I knew that power in myself even before I’d uncovered these forest conversations. I’d felt it in the energy of the maple in my yard, flowing into me as I contemplated Dr. Malpass’s wisdom about embracing the mystery of life, sensing that magical emergent phenomena when we work together, the synergy that reductionist science so often misses, leading us to mistakenly simplify our societies and ecosystems.”

  After she survived her breast cancer treatment, she asked for some kind of reassurance to get on with her life, but all she encountered was the mystery of life, so she used her knowledge and passion for trees to create The Mother Tree Project. 

 “Our goal is to further develop an emergent philosophy: complexity science. Based on embracing collaboration in addition to competition—indeed, working with all the interactions that make up the forest—complexity science can transform forestry practices into what is adaptive and holistic and away from what has been overly authoritarian and simplistic.”

 Perhaps this book will confirm what your intuition perceives in your own interactions with trees and forests; or it may offer you a new window of contemplation, immersed in a deeper understanding of the trees, inviting you to cherish those moments of communion.

 “There is no moment too small in the world. Nothing should be lost. Everything has a purpose, and everything is in need of care. This is my creed. Let us embrace it. We can watch it rise.”

  Feel free to visit The Mother Tree Project:

https://mothertreeproject.org

 To keep marveling at the ways trees communicate, check this video by Suzanne Simard:

 

You may want to read my writing on “Entangled Life” if you haven't had a chance to read it yet:

https://juliahoneswritinglife.blogspot.com/2021/12/entangled-life.html

 

Untamed: The Wild Life of Jane Goodall

   

“Knowledge is the only sword that can cut through harm being done in ignorance.” Sara Dykman, author of “Bicycling with Butterflies”.

  Jane Goodall was the first person to discover that chimpanzees make tools and use them; when she later wrote about their emotions, personalities and intelligence, she was criticized. Just like humans, chimps have emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, frustration and grief. 

 Thanks to her childhood teacher-- her family dog, Rusty—Jane Goodall had learned at a very early age that animals have individual personalities.  

 

Jane Goodall loved animals since she was little. She spent hours watching them and learning about them. Her connection with animals was deep.

  

One day in winter, when she was lying sick in bed, a British robin came to her windowsill; to encourage his visits, she left crumbs every day for the robin. In the spring the robin returned with a mate, and the birds made a nest in a bookshelf in her bedroom.

   Anita Silvey wrote “Untamed” for children, but it turned out to be a mesmerizing read for people of all ages. In an engaging conversational style she provides details about Jane Goodall’s life story, anecdotes, facts, maps and delightful photos. It is a book that can be shared and celebrated with an entire family, because it connects generations of people through experiences from the past, which are linked to historical events.  

 “Untamed” also contains an uplifting foreword by Jane Goodall, opening the minds of children to new perspectives and hopeful horizons.

  Jane empowers children to make a difference in the world.

  Anita Silvey’s book recounts how and why Jane Goodall traveled to Africa in her twenties, and how she got in touch with the mentor who would support her work through her years in Africa. His name was Louis Leakey.

  When Jane first settled in Gombe, Africa, to explore the lives of the chimps, her mother was with her. In a secluded place in a forest, away from people, where they had to dig a hole for a latrine, Jane found the magical site she had dreamed of in her childhood. Jane’s description of the place was idyllic; she wrote to her family about it:

 “It is so beautiful, with the crystal clear blue lake, the tiny white pebbles on the beach, the sparkling ice cold mountain stream, the palm nut trees, the comical baboons.”

  Anita Silvey explains the risks, dangers, and discoveries of Jane's adventures, making the book intriguing and unique. “Untamed” also details how the study of animals has evolved over the years, including amazing information about the challenges Jane encountered back then.

 “She devoted more hours to observation and recording than anyone in the area of chimpanzee research. And she did so through illnesses such as malaria, horrible weather, and rough living conditions.”

  

I did not know that chimps draw and paint, but some of them do. This is a photo of chimp Congo. He began to draw when he was two years old, and two years later he completed more than 200 abstract compositions.

    

Jane Goodall continues to work tirelessly to protect forests, prairies, oceans and the lives of animals and people. She also inspires children and people of all ages to do the same.

 Jane’s organizations include Roots and Shoots, Jane Goodall’s Institute and TACARE.

Feel free to check these sites:

https://www.rootsandshoots.org/

https://www.janegoodall.org/

https://tacare.org/about-us/

 I am humbled by Jane Goodall’s wisdom and courage; here’s an interview with Jane Goodall.

 Here’s another thought-provoking conversation with Jane Goodall published by Vox.

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22585935/jane-goodall-chimpanzees-animal-intelligence-human-nature

To learn more about Anita Silvey’s works, you can visit her website:

https://www.anitasilvey.com/

National Geographic Kids is the publisher of “Untamed”:

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/