"Florida has the distinction of being one of the most pestiferous places on the planet. That museum is teaching us that we need to learn something about mosquitoes and viruses and plants and water and our place in that ecology."
In 1859, Thomas Austin notoriously introduced rabbits to Australia, which led to significant ecological consequences, impacting native wildlife and contributing to agricultural challenges.
This latest one jumps on the fungal-panic bandwagon: Saylor has nipped back 100 years to locate the original spores at the root of a pestilence that has eradicated most of life on Earth.
"Our testing process is very exact. Beyond collecting standard acoustic data, each team member must agree, unanimously and unhesitatingly, that natural quiet prevailed throughout the testing period."
My choice of paper echoes the idea of the fragility that I want to convey as I look at the precariousness of ecological systems. The works' structural integrity is, at times, reliant on its interconnectivity; if elements disconnect, the entire system is in threat of collapsing. This reflects a broader commentary on how interconnected our global trade systems are with the environment, even as they contribute to the climate crisis.
The anatomical features of beavers, such as their retractable valves and webbed feet, enable them to thrive in aquatic environments and achieve complex engineering feats like dam building.