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Published on Visualizing Ecology (http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter)

Andrew Desmarais

“As I write, a team of sharpshooters in the employ of the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy is at work killing thousands of feral pigs on Santa Cruz Island… the slaughter is part of an ambitious plan to restore the island’s habitat and save the island fox, an endangered species found only on the islands off the coast of Southern California.”

                                                            -Michael Pollan The Omnivore’s Dilemma (p.324)              I found this section of the book to be very interesting, especially the idea, that the decisions we make in terms of which animals to raise and things of that sort can have such a huge impact on the environment. Santa Cruz Island was used up until the 1980’s for pig farming, but by the time all the farms were shut down, enough pigs had gotten loose and started forming their own communities in the wild. The pigs rooting has caused damage to the soil, and they eat so many acorns that the trees are having trouble reproducing. The most damaging thing the pigs have done to the ecosystem of the island is to increase the golden eagle population. The abundance of the pigs provides ample food for the golden eagles, which in turn will increase the eagle population. The eagles also enjoy eating the island fox, which becomes a problem when there are way more eagles than foxes, so due to the fact that we as humans established pig farms on the island, the ecosystem of the island has become very unstable. Bald Eagles have left the island due to the presence of the more aggressive Golden Eagle, and the fact that the Bald Eagles hunt primarily seafood, and during the 50’s and 60’s a chemistry company dumped large quantities of DDT into the waters, making them uninhabitable for the Bald Eagles. I think this is a great example of how humans can play a huge roll in what effects and ecosystem, and also a great example of adaptation.
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http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/visecowinter/andrew-desmarais-2