Animals we can’t live without
Even the most miniscule and undesirable animal on the planet plays a vital role in its ecosystem, so that a change in its eating habits, that is, in food chains, can compromise the survival of everything around it. We are talking about the ecological balance, that is, the interdependence of all living beings in a biome.
Of course, man is the animal that most challenges the ecological balance, through overexploitation of natural resources, the pollution of land, water and air in its path, and the domestication and redistribution of species at leisure. An example of this is the recent change in the polar bear diet due to global warming, which has shortened the hunting period for seal pups.
The progressive disappearance of biodiversity is more important than we can imagine, because ultimately it leads to the disappearance of our own species. These are, according to experts, some of the animals are indispensable for the survival of life on Earth.
These hymenoptera insects, besides providing us with a tasty sweetener, are the most important pollinators on the planet, ahead of birds and bats. A quarter of the flowering plant species depend on them. The overexploitation of agricultural land to feed the human population is causing a decline in the population of these insects, whereas in reality, 70% of these crops depend entirely or partly on their pollination.
Plankton encompasses a large number of bacteria, viruses, microbes and small animals that move along ocean currents and winds, serving as food for virtually all marine life. Plant plankton or phytoplankton produces half of the oxygen we breathe, while absorbing much of the carbon dioxide present on the surface and reducing the greenhouse effect.
The fungi, although they do not belong to the animal kingdom, are determinants in the maintenance of the ecosystems. They are the top recyclers of decaying organic remains, in addition to providing water and minerals to plants through their roots. Human beings could not survive without them, since up to 80 different types of fungi inhabit their bodies and all of them play a fundamental role in health.
Their importance does not lie solely in kinship, since we share 90 percent of our genes. We depend on their habitat because forests are important carbon sinks that release oxygen through photosynthesis, and because of their evapotranspiration function that influences precipitation. They are also excellent seed spreaders through their excrement because of their fruit-rich diet. One in two species is currently threatened with extinction.
Bats in urban areas can consume nearly 14,000 kilograms of insects in a single night, thus freeing us from harmful pests. In their movements they carry with them all kinds of seeds that contribute to the extension of the forests in the middle and tropical latitudes, as well as to pollination. They can disperse more than 30,000 small seeds overnight.
