It is commonly held knowledge now that human behavior is having detrimental impacts on many animal species across the world.
Some animals have been hunted to extinction, while deforestation and increasing urbanisation affect many animals’ habitats, with daily threats to vital marine and terrestrial ecosystems under daily threat.
But perhaps one of the most shocking effects of our impact on the environment and the species around us is, on the surface, a very small one. In fact, this dramatic consequence could be imperceptible to most people, but nonetheless is a sign of just how extreme human-driven environmental change has become.
According to zoologists at the University of Otago in New Zealand, their native insect species are evolving under our very eyes. The research, which was recently published in the academic journal Science proves that the native New Zealand stonefly has changed its color in response to recent deforestation across the nation.
Professor Jon Waters, co-author of the study, explained in a statement why this change to the color of the bug is a sign that these creatures are responding to the human impacts on their environment which could – at its worst – cause the stonefly to be at increased risk of predation:
“In natural forested regions, a native species has evolved ‘warning’ colors that mimic those of a poisonous forest species, to trick predators into thinking they are poisonous too.
But the removal of forests since humans arrived has removed the poisonous species. As a result, in deforested regions the mimicking species has abandoned this strategy – as there is nothing to mimic – instead evolving into a different color.”
Why is this a problem? Well the creatures are having to adapt to a new environment, thanks to the action of humans. This means that all the other creatures around them will, in some ways, have to adapt too in order to survive. This is because our natural environments have important ecosystems that have evolved over millions of years.
If a bug has adapted and can no longer be seen by its predator, that predator has to either adapt so it can spot the bug, or find something else to feed on. If it can’t it will eventually become extinct. This won’t just affect one species either: the species that preys on the extinct species will have to find new food, or it will be wiped out too – and so on.
Alternatively, if the changes to the bug species makes it more noticeable to its predators, it may find itself at risk of being wiped out, affecting those in the food chain below it and consequently damaging the delicate balances of our planet’s ecosystems.
This sounds bleak, but it could show a sign of resilience in our animal populations. Dr Graham McCulloch, another co-author on the study, explained in the statement that this could signal increased hope for many species’ adaptation to the climate crisis:
“This study is important because it shows that, at least for some of our native species, there is the possibility of adapting to the environmental changes caused by humans, even when the change is rapid.
It also shows that independent populations have undergone similar changes in response to deforestation – there have been similar shifts independently in different parts of the species’ range – showing that evolution can be a predictable process.”
While we must do everything we can to save our planet and its vulnerable ecosystems from the worst effects of the climate crisis, it is fascinating to know that even the smallest of creatures are poised to adapt.
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