500 Tortoises article today
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The_Four_Toed_Edward
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Here is just one news article on the case that I was able find quickly:
www.yahoo.com
In Finnish we call a species like this a key species of the ecosystem. I believe there are examples of the importance of tortoises to an ecosystem around the world. Desert tortoises and their burrows come to my mind.
All this reminds me of this video I saw on Instagram calling Aldabra tortoises ecosystem engineers:
500 tortoises turned the Saharan desert into something that looked alive even from outer space
The tortoises are what ecologists call "ecosystem engineers."
In Finnish we call a species like this a key species of the ecosystem. I believe there are examples of the importance of tortoises to an ecosystem around the world. Desert tortoises and their burrows come to my mind.
All this reminds me of this video I saw on Instagram calling Aldabra tortoises ecosystem engineers:
This is a very cool thing. I'm aware of this concept and I've seen in it in action twice before. They did a study like this in Hawaii with big giant sulcatas, and found similar results. The behavior of the sulcatas changed the landscape for the better.
The best examples I have seen of both the damage caused by introduced pests, and the good that can be done when the pests are removed and the giant tortoises replaced, is in the Galápagos Islands.
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I saw that article and think that it was a very good idea. It seems as though the use of the tortoises in the Sahara Desert was a great success.
One of my friends lives in Hawaii and he told me a couple of years ago that sulcatas were being released into some part of Hawaii to eat the invasive, non-native plants which had taken over the area. Once the unwanted plants had been decimated by the tortoises, native Hawaiian plants were going to be planted so that they could re-foliate the area and bring it back to its original natural state. Unfortunately, I don't know how or if that plan has worked.
Both ideas are a great use of "tortoise power", though.
Found these articles :
A Hundred-Kilo Shovel With Instincts
Sahara Ecosystem Restored From Space Thanks to 500 Tortoises
And even a video:
P.S Makes me wonder, what if we just moved there and were given lands to be "organic ecosystem engineers."
That's great! I watched a nature documentary on the Galapagos tortoises as native engineers on the islands. It was truly eye-opening. And now, Sulcatas, warms my heart!Here is just one news article on the case that I was able find quickly:
500 tortoises turned the Saharan desert into something that looked alive even from outer space
The tortoises are what ecologists call "ecosystem engineers."
In Finnish we call a species like this a key species of the ecosystem. I believe there are examples of the importance of tortoises to an ecosystem around the world. Desert tortoises and their burrows come to my mind.
All this reminds me of this video I saw on Instagram calling Aldabra tortoises ecosystem engineers:
