Channel: Sustainable Human

Category: Nonprofits & Activism

Tags: providingecosystemsmall animals in australiatasmanian devilshelpingmaintainvegetationdevilsbushfiresanimalswallabiespredatorstasmanian devil noiseeuropeanpataaustraliafoxesforeststasmanian devilcatsclimate change in australiamammalstasmanian devil fighttrophic cascadesmall mammalstasmanian devil sound

Description: Foxes and cats have devastated the trophic cascade balance in the Australian ecosystem. The reintroduction of Tasmanian Devils is being utilized to protect bandicoots, bettongs, and potaroos. These small animals are essential for maintaining a healthy ecosystem. The trophic cascade balance will restore natural balance to the predator landscape, allowing the brush to grow back and for a healthy water supply to be maintained in the soil, preventing massive destructive fires. 🌍 LIKE + SUBSCRIBE + CLICK BELL TO SIGN UP FOR NOTIFICATIONS 🌍 Learn more about this video ⟹ sustainablehuman.org/stories/how-devils-heal-forests 🌍 Support us on Patreon ⟹ patreon.com/sustainablehuman 🌍 Make a one-time donation ⟹ sustainablehuman.org/donate Sustainable Human is a 501c3 non-profit whose mission is to evolve human consciousness by examining the underlying stories that give rise to the environmental, social, and economic crises of our time and offer new stories that help humanity to live in harmony with each other and the biosphere. 🌍 Hire us to tell your story ⟹ sustainablehuman.org/video-storytelling 🌍 Sponsor a story ⟹ sustainablehuman.org/sponsor-a-story 🌍 Help us translate this video ⟹ sustainablehuman.org/translate 🌍 Story by Rob Brewster ⟹ aussieark.org.au 0:00 - What is a Trophic Cascade? 0:24 - Australia's Ecosystems Prior To European Arrival 1:17 - How European Arrival Affected The Australian Ecosystems 2:40 - How Devils Can Change The Behavior of Other Animals 3:35 - How Devils May Help To Heal Forests Transcript: One of the most exciting scientific findings of the past half century has been the discovery of widespread trophic cascades. A trophic cascade is an ecological process which starts at the top of the food chain and tumbles all the way down to the bottom. Many of us would likely be astonished to learn that Tasmanian devils were never unique to Australia’s island state of Tasmania as they are today - but rather evolved over millions of years on mainland Australia, where they played a vital role as a keystone species that helped maintain the health of entire forest ecosystems. Prior to European arrival, Australia’s ecosystem evolved in near isolation from the rest of the world for over 40 million years, forming deep, complex interrelationships that helped maintain ecosystem resiliance. However, foxes and cats introduced in the first hundred years of British arrival, quickly ate their way across the continent, growing in numbers, fuelled by a vast European rabbit population which had been destroying the vegetation undergrowth that was essential to providing shelter to small mammals like bandicoots, bettongs, and potoroos. It turns out that these small mammals are essential to maintaining the health and resilience of entire forest ecosystems. As these animals forage for food, they dig the ground, mixing organic matter into the soil, spreading fungi and seed. The burying of leaf litter reduces fuel loads, creating conditions for cooler, less destructive bushfires. Keep reading: sustainablehuman.org/stories/how-devils-heal-forests/#Transcript #Devils #Tasmania #TrophicCascades