Current research: ecosystems and environments

Tractor, fields and flowers in Britain

Biologists see the world as a mosaic of different environments, such as those of lakes, deserts, shorelines or rivers. In these different settings are to be found ecosystems: specialized communities of animals and plants existing in complex interaction with each other and with their environment.

The need for understanding

Aammiq Wetland in winter

Understanding ecosystems and environments is vital: animal and plant species cannot be conserved in isolation. Species are linked both to the physical world and to each other. So, take away the lake environment and there will be no lake plants; take away the lake fish and there will be none of the birds that feed on them. This is what makes ecology and conservation so challenging. It is not just cataloguing what is there, it is understanding how everything fits together and how an entire ecosystem works. This is even more complex in a world where there are ever-growing human demands and climatic changes to consider. Yet if we try to preserve or restore an ecosystem, we are forced to make decisions such as what species are to be encouraged and what are discouraged. To make such decisions properly requires that we know at least something of how the ecosystem works. Unless understanding precedes management, any decisions may backfire badly.

Everywhere we work, A Rocha is involved with studies on both environments and ecosystems. We try to consider the human factor, working with local communities in conservation, as it is no longer realistic or desirable to have nature reserves that are fenced off from all but a handful of scientists. We see people, not as being the problem, but as being part of the answer.

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The trees of the Lord are well cared for—
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
There the birds make their nests,
and the storks make their homes in the firs.
High in the mountains are pastures for the wild goats,
and the rocks form a refuge for rock badgers.

Psalm 104:16, NLT