Keep the Elephants out of Hawaii

Bowman suggests bringing into Australia “predators to control the feral animals, and bring in herbivore species to graze the flammable grasses”. He also suggests bringing to Australia: elephants and rhinoceros, which he believes could help tame the wild grasses that are fuel for wildfires. Although this solution would be without any chemicals, there is a distinct possibility it could be the most dangerous for the animals and the people who reside within Australia. If the introduction of new animals did in fact fail, Australia would have another difficult situation on their hands, but the difference would be that this time it would have been of their own doing. In the past, there have been many cases of animals being introduced to new lands, and the responses have been disastrous. Once animals are introduced to a new ecosystem, it is nearly impossible to eradicate them, so there is almost no chance of going back to what the land was like before their arrival. Even the most minute ripple in an ecosystem can have a domino effect, and can have extremely serious ramifications. By using examples from history and a little bit of logic, it does not seem that Bowman’s idea of introducing wildlife would be a very good idea for Australia.

In 1936, Robert K. Merton defined the law of unintended consequences as reactions that “may be positive, negative or merely neutral, but they veer off from the intent of the initial action”. Merton believes that there are two main reasons why the law of unintended consequences works. The first reason, he says, is because the people who wanted to make some change could not fathom all of the outcomes it could have. The second reason is that those who were in charge decided the change did not have its desired reaction, and they then made errors in attempting to fix their mistakes. All of this essentially means that no matter what is done, there will be consequences that were not expected. Bowman does say in his article that “it would be essential to proceed cautiously”, and that studies would be necessary before they brought in foreign animals to Australia. If they were to do studies, it would be nearly impossible to imagine the long term effects of the animal’s appearance into the wildlife, especially considering the many different ecosystems that encompass Australia.

Bowman’s idea to bring in foreign species to help the environment is not a new concept to Australia. During the 1930’s, a species known as the Bufo Marinus, or more commonly, the cane toad, was introduced to Australia. The cane toad was brought to Australia as an alternative to using a chemical solution to control bugs that were destroying the sugar cane crop. The results were devastating. The eggs, tadpoles, full grown toads, and even their carcasses are extremely dangerous to not only the Australian wildlife, but also the Australian people. The adults, eggs, and tadpoles are toxic to vertebrate predators. The carcasses of the cane toads that rot can contaminate the drinking water of humans. Because of the great numbers of the cane toad, at this point, eradication of the species from Australia is not an option. Eighty years after the cane toad had been introduced to Australia, they are still wreaking havoc, and the Australian government still does not know how to get the cane toads under control. Although it is easy to see what a mistake this was after the fact, it did seem like a good idea at the time, and a positive alternative to using harsh chemicals. If bringing in the cane toad to Australia had such a damaging aftermath, why would Bowman believe that they could control several different species of predators and herbivores all at the same time, and why does he believe that there could not be serious adverse outcomes?

According to scientist Heather Eijzenga “The accidental or intentional introduction of alien species is one of the most serious threats faced by island ecosystems”. In Hawaii, even herbivores that are not native to the land can be very dangerous to the rest of the wildlife. Rabbits and rats are destroying the ecosystems of the seabirds that come to the island of Lehua. The rabbits and birds are both contending for the same nesting grounds; so if the rabbits take the nesting grounds of the birds, they will not be able to lay their eggs on this island, which could possibly destroy the ecosystem of Lehua. Also, the rabbits can destroy the vegetation and make the birds more susceptible to predators. The rats that have been introduced to this island are notorious for eating the eggs and the newly hatched chicks. Animals that are not poisonous like the cane toad can severely damage an ecosystem, which can have long term repercussions. Although these animals were not introduced with a purpose, so they were not monitored, they still have had a damaging impact on the island. This island is also without people, so if two herbivores have destroyed the ecosystem of an island that is without people, predators and large herbivores that are introduced could have dismantling effects.

Although David Bowman is an Australian and a professor of environmental change biology at the School for Plant Science in Australia, his article has zero supporting scientific evidence. He makes a bold claim that the Australian government should introduce new predators to the environment, and then attempts to qualify his argument with saying how he knows it is in fact, a bold claim. If he does have any scientific evidence supporting this idea, he does not present it in his article. To bring in predators to Australia with the belief that the government would be able to control wild animals is an ignorant position to take. Bringing in a species that is not native to the lands of Australia could have a disastrous aftermath on the environment, ecology, and overall safety of the Australian people.







Works Cited

"Cane Toad Invasion." Invasion of the Cane Toad. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.canetoadsinoz.com/invasion.html>.

"Cane Toads." Cane Toads. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.canetoads.com.au/canetfact.htm>.

Eijzenga, Heather. "Studying the Effects of Removing Non-native Herbivores on Lehua Island’s Vegetation." Department of Botany at the University of Hawaii, Mano. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.

Ellis-Christensen, Tricia, and O. Wallace. "What Is the Law of Unintended Consequences?" WiseGeek. Conjecture. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-law-of-unintended-consequences.htm>.