Are we the dominant species of Planet Earth?
With a population of seven billion and increasing at an
exponential rate we seem to think we own our
planet, that we dominate it. But is it true?
There are organisms with are more numerous and have a larger
share of the total biomass of the Planet. But a certain six-legged, shrimp-like
springtails or collembola cannot be matched in this number game. Ranging from
0.25-10mm in length, there are typically 10,000 of springtails per metre square
of soil and may be as high 200,000. Turn a stone and chances are you’ll find a
springtail colony living under it. They inhabit every corner of our planet,
from icy landmass of Antarctica to highest mountain ranges of our planet. But
do they dominate our planets
No, there is only one master. Ants. They control every
millimetre of soil, wherever they live. Ants exert their control in a wide
range of ingenious ways, from moving more earth about than earthworms, clearing
away their dead to reduce the spread of disease and waging war. Leaf cutter
ants farm fungi as a food source and use a bacterial pesticide related to
penicillin to improve the productivity of their farms, while herder ants keep
herds of aphids so they can milk them for a sugary substance called honeydew.
But do they dominate our planet?
No. We are living , as Grould wrote, in the Age of Bacteria.
Wolbachia provide a particularly good example of the below-the-radar dominance
of bacteria. Extremely widespread and devious, they live within the cells of
around two-thirds of insects and other arthropods, such as spiders and mites.
They can pass between species.However their main method of transmission is
through the eggs of host females. And they exert their dominance by messing
with the reproduction of almost every animal they infect, causing some species
to change sex, killing off males, and altering their sperm. In doing so, they
have in turn affected the survival and evolution of thousands of other species.
But do They dominate our planet?
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No. It is only humans who dominate our planet. Unlike the
Springtails, Ants and Bacteria, with our superior cognitive skills, opposable
thumbs and will power we have left the bounds of our planet and launched
ourselves into infinite space. This not only shows our capacity to leave the
planet but also to conquer and dominate it.
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