Chapter 10 - Admir Basic

In Chapter 10 of The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert opens up with the rapidly declining population of bat populations in North America. Scientists found thousands of dead bats with a white substance coating their bodies during the hibernation period. It was found that the white substance was from a deadly fungus that strikes during cold seasons. Darwin believed that ecosystems were isolated from many natural barriers to prevent animals from migrating. However, during the Anthropocene Epoch, animals have had to migrate long distances in order to find an alternate environment for their populations, challenging Darwin’s original theory. The author also noted that the fungus had spread to as far as West Virginia. She went with a scientist to the Adirondacks to count the number of brown bats and other species. While counting, they noticed that the white powder was growing on the bats’ bodies. The chapter noted that there are only two end possibilities when a species moves into a new environment. Either they adapt to the new environment and thrive or the new environment drives the species to extinction. The species can also act like an invasive species reducing the biodiversity of native species in the environment. The fungus is a good example of how introducing an invasive species can have a detrimental effect on native animal populations. The chapter also notes that invasive species are all over the globe thanks to human evolution. Unlike Pangaea (the supercontinent), where there were physical barriers to prevent species from intertwining, humans allow species to easily travel the globe through air and sea travel. The author also visits the Aeolus Cave to observe bat species finding many corpses. The scientists she is traveling with wrap the bats in plastic to analyze the corpses. Due to the increased human commerce since the Columbian era, invasive species have caused short-term biodiversity increases but long-term declines in biodiversity. The study of invasive species only goes back to the 1950s with Charles Elton and his molecule analogy. On page 212, he explains the “analogy of a set of glass tanks...all of the tanks would eventually hold the same solution.” [(R) This is an interesting way to look at the effects of moving species all over the globe. The chemical composition in the glass tanks would be forever altered and the original chemicals would be new chemicals that would reach equilibrium with each other. This connects to the theme that Earth is an interconnected system since just like the relation between the chemicals in the tanks, a change in any variable such as climate can impact other planetary systems.] This analogy explains the effects of ceasing human commerce. Biodiversity would remain lower but in millions of years, the biodiversity would increase again and reach the “equilibrium” similar to the tanks. The chapter ends off explaining the extent of population decline in the Aeolus Cave. “The total came to 112. This was about a thirtieth of the bats that used to be counted in the hall (Pg 214).” [(R) It is shocking to imagine how many bats are dying because of a fungi epidemic especially since the number counted was comparable to the number of Hawaiian crows left in existence.]