Ecosystem Engineers
Ecologist Ann Mayo, defines an ecosystem engineer as an organism which structures the environment to suit its needs and in doing so has profound effects on the occurrence, abundance, and spatial pattern of other species.
Obviously humans fit this definition and are one of the more drastic and influential ecosystem engineers. But, we are not the only ones.
Wetland Engineers
For some time, beavers have been referred to as the textbook example of ecosystem engineers.
According to a study done by the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department at Cornell University, beavers can increase the diversity of herbaceous plants near a river or stream by 33%. No wonder an article entitled “Beaver Dreams” in Western Confluence by Erin Jones talks about a Wyoming rancher asking the Game and Fish for a beaver. This increase would mean more food for his livestock.
More plant life is not the only benefit to having a beaver build a home on your land. In the previously mentioned article in Western Confluence, the program director of Wyoming Wetlands Society Bill Long said,
Beavers can establish new wetlands and make existing wetlands work better. Cleaner, colder water comes out of beaver dams. Beaver dams raise the water table and increase water quality by slowing down the flow and filtering the water.
Many landowners struggle with beavers damning up ditches, culverts, or streams to make an area suitable for their survival, just like humans. But, at least one rancher near Kinnear, Wyoming would like to get some help from these wetland engineers.
Soil Engineers
Ant colonies and mounds mix the different soil levels and provide routes for water and gases to flow in through tunnels that riddle the soil with passage ways. As you can see from the image above, their influence is quite extensive.
In another article in Western Confluence entitled “The Tiniest Engineer” by Emilene Ostlind that covers the finding of Wyoming Ecologist Reilly Dibner, ants are said to shape the sage brush ecosystem. Ant mounds can cause an increase in plant diversity.
Dibner also explained that,
[Ants] can change water infiltration and the nutrient content of soil around their mounds. They affect diversity of plants around their mounds. They create ‘islands of fertility.’
The areas around certain ant mounds can have a wider variety of plants; however, many ants clear out any of the plants directly surrounding their mounds. After a nest dies or is moved, a patch of fertile soil is left behind that plants can move into.
Ants engineer the soil to be suitable for the internal environment of their nests, insuring the development of their young and their own survival just like humans and beavers.
