Eli Tsakiris

  Bilby Burrows Integral to Ecosystem Function

Summary: This article tells of a small rodent called a Bilby, whose interesting burrowing habits have proved to be vital to its ecosystem's health.  "The more moderate and stable microclimate in the burrows at night may provide two potential benefits," DPaW research scientist Dr Tamra Chapman says. Seeds in the burrows and on the surface soil are exposed to different conditions, which may increase plant diversity. The insides of the burrows tended to have higher soil moisture, pH, and lower aluminum than the surrounding soil, thus helping biodiversity. Since a slightly different habitat is available inside the Bilby's burrow, different types of plants can live there that would normally not exist in the Bilby's outside habitat. Secondly, an experiment also revealed an accumulation of mineral nitrogen in the burrows, which is uncommon in the area the Bilby lives but is beneficial to some plants growth. As resources like these are uncommon in the Bilby's habitat, its ability to distribute them and make them available to plants, is extremely beneficial. The Bilby's burrows act almost as a plow would, turning up the soil and making nutrients more available to plants.

Relevance: This article relates to our lessons in unit one about Biodiversity, relating to the stability of an ecosystem. We learned how the more diverse an ecosystem is, the more stable and productive it is. The Bilby creates areas of different conditions which allows a greater spectrum of plants to grow increasing the biodiversity. As we learned in chapter 2, a diverse ecosystem is better because there is less dependence on each individual species, so if one falters the entire ecosystem doesn't fall apart. Since the Bilby has made its ecosystem more diverse, the ecosystem depends less on each individual species, and is more likely to stay intact if a species is wiped out or extinct.

"Bilby Burrows Integral to Ecosystem Function." Bilby Burrows Integral to Ecosystem Function. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. <http://phys.org/news/2013-10-bilby-burrows-ecosystem-function.html>.

Article Link: http://phys.org/news/2013-10-bilby-burrows-ecosystem-function.html#jCp