Animals as the Arteries of the Biosphere with Joe Roman | TGS 131

(Conversation recorded on June 14th, 2024)

Show Summary:

If plants are considered the lungs of the Earth, cycling CO2 into oxygen for animals to breathe, then animals act as the heart and arteries, spreading nutrients across the Earth to where it’s needed most.

This is the metaphor that today’s guest, conservation biologist Joe Roman, uses when describing his work studying how animals such as whales, otters, salmon, and midges provide vital ecosystem services, and how destruction of their populations – caused by modern industrial systems – affects the livability of the entire planet.

How has human activity drastically altered the balance and mass of species, and subsequently their ability to spread nutrients across the biosphere? What consequences must we face when biodiversity is diminished and nutrients are no longer dispersed as equally, leaving ecosystems with either extreme concentrations or scarcity of essential minerals, such as nitrogen and phosphorus? If we could “re-wild” diminishing species into their native habitats and aim for zero human-caused extinctions, how would this support a more resilient Earth for future generations of humans and animals alike?

About Joe Roman:

Joe Roman is a conservation biologist, marine ecologist, and “editor ’n’ chef” of eattheinvaders.org. Winner of the Rachel Carson Environment Book Award for Listed: Dispatches from America’s Endangered Species Act, Roman has written for The New York Times, Science, Slate, and other publications. Coverage of his research has appeared in the New Yorker, Washington Post, NPR, BBC, and many other outlets. He is a fellow and writer in residence at the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont. His latest book is Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World.

For Show Notes and More visit:
https://www.thegreatsimplification.co...

00:00:00 - Introduction and Joe's Background
00:03:54 - Eat, Poop, Die
00:08:55 - Historical Nutrient Flows and Megafauna
00:12:18 - Phosphorus, Nitrogen, and Ecosystem Impact
00:14:15 - The Guano Revolution and Global Impact
00:20:52 - The Story of Surtsey Island
00:25:45 - Implications
00:28:49 - Importance of Biodiversity
00:31:33 - Decline in Animal Populations and Biodiversity
00:36:27 - Whale Pump and Nutrient Cycling
00:46:33 - Salmon and Sea Otters
00:52:27 - Climate Change and Nutrient Flows
00:58:07 - Addressing the Biodiversity Crisis
01:06:30 - Animals and the Economy
01:09:43 - The Ecological Perspective
01:12:59 - What Can We Do Locally?
01:23:01 - Closing Questions

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Image Credits:
08:08 - Image from The Guardian, 2018
09:55 - Illustration by Jared T. Williams
15:42 - Image by Monika from Pixabay
21:59 - Image under U.S. Public Domain
24:18 - Image provided by Joe Roman
24:59 - Image under U.S. Public Domain
38:20 - Image Provided by Joe Roman
49:01 - Image Provided by Joe Roman
50:58 - Image Provided by Joe Roman

Music: Frontiers by Revo
Licensed through Music Vine
License ID: S549586-16003