Michael Weinstein (Edison): An Ecological Backfire

20. January 2009 by student.

  I recently read an article about an Australian island (Macquarie) located between Australia and Antarctica.  I’m studying Marine Biology and Environmental Protection, so these types of stories are very interesting to me.  I also believe that too often people try to make a difference in nature and don’t think things all the way through to the possible consequences of thier actions.

The populations of penguins on this island were decreasing and local ecologists thought they had a good solution to increase the population.  There were a large number of feral cats on the island, which were thought to be killing the penguins and destroying the population.  The feral cats were removed and the problem should have been solved, right?  Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.  As a result of the removal of the cats, the rabbit and rat population exploded.  These rabbits and rats have consumed 40% of the islands native plants along shorelines causing severe erosion.  The penguins on the island used these plants and rocky shoreline for cover and now don’t have the protection and nesting grounds, causing a decline in the penguin population.  In addition, it’s said that to cost to authorities to fix this is approximately 24 million dollars.

In conclusion, many people have great ideas for the protection of our environment, sometimes these ideas aren’t thought through far enough.  There are many situations where peoples efforts have worked wonderfully, unfortunately this is not one of those situations.

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