A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has revealed that wildlife collectively expend a large amount of energy in shaping Earth's surface. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London conducted a global synthesis, identifying 603 species, genera, or families of animals that actively reshape Earth's surface.
"Animals are not just inhabitants of the natural world; they are its architects," the researchers stated.
Termites in Brazil build vast mounds covering thousands of square kilometers that alter the structure of the soil, including meter-high hills. These termite mounds are even visible from space, illustrating the scale at which animals can shape landscapes.
Ants excavate tunnels, facilitating aeration and drainage, and they change the structure of the soil. "Ant hill landscapes influence soil erosion and runoff," the researchers stated. Similarly, crayfish contribute to the erosion of riverbeds with their burrows. "Freshwater crayfish change bank erosion and sediment transport," the researchers stated.
Salmon spawning moves huge volumes of water, changing riverbeds and shaping them. Hippos, by moving between water and land, excavate drainage channels and modify the erosion of riverbanks, influencing the landscape. Their tracks could represent the beginning of drainage networks, as reported by Phys.org.
Domestic animals such as cattle, yaks, goats, sheep, and horses likely influence geomorphological processes even more strongly than wild animals. According to Die Zeit, the researchers wrote that the contribution of farm animals is estimated to be 450 times that of wild animals due to their numbers and size.
"This research shows that the role of animals in shaping Earth's landscapes is much more significant than previously recognized," said lead author Professor Gemma Harvey. "From beavers creating wetlands to ants building mounds of soil, these diverse natural processes are crucial, yet we risk losing them as biodiversity declines," she continued.
According to TGCOM24, the collective energy of these natural engineers contributes to modeling Earth's surface with at least 76,000 gigajoules of energy per year. This energy contribution is comparable to that of hundreds of thousands of extreme floods each year, the researchers found. The estimate of 76,000 gigajoules is likely an underestimate, as noted by Die Zeit.
Among the species identified, more than a third inhabit freshwater ecosystems. Freshwater ecosystems cover only 2.4% of Earth's surface, making aquatic ecosystems epicenters of zoogeomorphological transformation. The researchers compiled effects from more than 500 wild animal species and five domestic animal species, including insects, mammals, fish, birds, and reptiles, as reported by n-tv.
Beavers are highlighted for their environmental impact through their dam-building activities. Beavers create entire wetlands and significantly impact their environments through their dam-building activities. Reintroducing or removing beavers in certain areas has a strong impact on how river landscapes look.
The study notes that the loss of these species could have profound consequences for the ecosystems and landscapes they support. "The geomorphic processes created by these species could cease before their significance is fully understood," the researchers wrote.
Almost 30% of the species identified in the study are rare, endemic, or threatened.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.