Evgenia Emets’ Post

The unique rock formations in Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site feature natural depressions, commonly known as "huecos," which collect and retain rainwater, creating ephemeral pools. This phenomenon attracts a diverse array of fauna, transforming the rocks into oasis-like habitats. Desert wildlife such as quail, dove, coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions visit the huecos for hydration. In addition to supporting desert wildlife, the huecos also provide a haven for insect life, including beetles, ants, and butterflies. Amphibians like frogs and toads breed in the temporary pools, while reptiles such as lizards, snakes, and turtles seek refuge and water in the huecos. The huecos serve as vital food sources, supporting insects, plants, and small animals that thrive in the moist environments. They also offer shelter from extreme temperatures and predators, and function as breeding grounds for various species. This convergence of water, flora, and fauna creates micro-ecosystems within Hueco Tanks, highlighting the park's unique biodiversity and ecological significance.

The Unsung Hero of the Savannah Too much of a nuisance, too little of a charm...The warthog's rugged beauty often goes unacknowledged, unseen. As an ecologist and biodiversity expert, I'm compelled to shed light on their unique traits which make them a vital component of their ecosystems. Inspired by the recent viral post on Mwebantu Facebook Page, I want to highlight the warthog's impressive characteristics and the crucial role they play in maintaining ecosystem balance. Warthogs possess an impressive array of characteristics that enable them to thrive in challenging environments. They boast exceptional digging skills, using their powerful snouts and tusks to excavate burrows and uncover underground plant material. Their robust bodies and short legs allow for remarkable agility and speed, reaching up to 30 miles per hour. Additionally, warthogs are opportunistic omnivores, feeding on a wide variety of plants, insects, and small animals, making them adaptable to changing environmental conditions. Warthogs play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem balance, providing numerous benefits to their environments. As ecosystem engineers, their digging activities create complex burrow systems, offering shelter for other animals, such as predators, prey, and insects. Additionally, warthogs facilitate seed dispersal through their foraging and digging, promoting vegetation diversity. They also contribute to nutrient cycling by consuming underground plant material, thereby transferring nutrients between soil and vegetation. Moreover, warthogs' digging activities create unique landscape features, adding visual interest and character to their savannah habitats. Furthermore, their rooting behaviors uncover hidden water sources, revealing oasis-like settings that support a wider range of biodiversity, making their habitats more resilient and breathtakingly beautiful. It's time to reevaluate our perception of warthogs. These remarkable animals deserve our appreciation and protection. By conserving warthog populations and their habitats, we ensure the long-term health of our ecosystems and the benefits they provide. Let's celebrate the warthog's unsung heroism and work together to preserve the rich biodiversity of our planet. #Biodiversity #Warthog #Ecosystem #Nature #WildLife #Management

Celebrating Nature’s Resilience: A Tribute to Old-Growth Forests In the heart of Montana’s pristine wilderness lies a testament to nature’s enduring strength. A 192-acre tract of untouched old-growth forest stands as a living museum, showcasing the resilience of an ecosystem that has thrived for centuries without human intervention. Recent findings from this ancient woodland reveal a remarkable ability to self-regulate and protect against natural disturbances like fire. This resilience is not just a marvel of nature but also a crucial factor in preserving biodiversity. As we navigate the challenges of conservation, it’s essential to recognize the value of such ecosystems. The Black Ram project reminds us of the delicate balance we must maintain to ensure these forests continue to flourish. Let’s use old-growth forest restoration as a tool for Earth's regeneration, climate action, and resilience. #OldGrowthForests #NatureConservation #Sustainability #Biodiversity #Resilience ##NatureRestoration #NatureBasedSolutions https://lnkd.in/dUpiZGBn

Have you ever wondered what thrives within our Vertical Ecosystem? This unique environment is a bustling world of its own, providing a serene habitat for a variety of wildlife, undisturbed by the city's rush. Our Vertical Ecosystems are home to diverse bird species that ingeniously build their nests from fallen branches. These nests, shielded from weather elements by the dense foliage, offer a safe shelter for birds to raise their young. Lizards play a pivotal role here, acting as natural pest controllers by feeding on insects and other small bugs. Their presence not only helps maintain ecological balance but also signals the health of our ecosystem, serving as living indicators of environmental quality. Insects, the unacknowledged heroes of our ecosystem, are essential for pollination, nutrient cycling, and as a primary food source for other species. In crafting this Vertical Ecosystem, BIOTONOMY created more than just a green space; we've nurtured a self-sustaining organism that enriches urban life, demonstrating nature's resilience and its vital contributions to our world. Learn more about Vertical Ecosystems by signing up for free on our website - see link in bio. #biotonomy #naturebasedsolutions #ecosystem #greencities

💬 “Wholesale moving of ecosystems can’t be undone, so should be very much a last resort. Our #woodland wildlife often depends on native trees: for example well over 300 species are completely dependent on our native oak trees." - Andrew Allen 👉 'As the world gets hotter, could helping trees migrate northwards protect them?' from Phoebe Weston in The Guardian https://lnkd.in/efRifffR 🌳 Native trees have a high capacity to adapt to change, especially if consideration is given to allowing regular cycles of natural regeneration. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eeEJWqTS

A ONCE.......AND FUTURE.......HOME? It is some years since I took this photograph and the scene may have changed, but I still find myself responding to it at a number of levels......... As an environmentalist, I know that the woodland across the water is probably secondary, having grown up when a probable oakwood was felled. It is mostly birch, with a scattering of other species; alder along the wetter edges. It is very pleasant, but could probably be enriched by planting with other species, including more hazel. Oak would certainly enjoy the good soils and sunny position. I have read that the tidal marshes beside the slow-flowing river once resounded to the call of bittern; it would be nice to think of them returning, along with marsh harriers, perhaps even cranes? A superficial look suggests there is real potential here...... Clearly the grounds around the abandoned croft-cottage have potential, too. If left alone, there is the opportunity for a nice mosaic of habitats: old meadows, wet and dry, gorse proving the thorny scrub that is so good for wildlife, birch and other species waiting in the wings, strips of heather for biodiversity.........so, if you left the place as it is, slowly it would become wilder and better for nature...... But, as a Highlander, I dislike the thought of somewhere which was home to generations either collapsing further, or becoming yet another holiday-home; we have plenty of those. And, as that environmentalist, I know well the ecological richness which resulted from small-scale, careful interaction between our ancestors and the Natural World, the veteran trees in the managed wood-pasture, the flower-rich haymeadows, the benefits brought by a mix of stock...... This is the future I would like to see here; it is the sort of place which could, potentially, fit into Scotland-The Big Picture's Northwoods network. I have a few differences with STBP, but Northwoods really IS what we need for the Highlands and Islands; people living ON the land, FROM the land, enhancing its beauty, its biodiversity, and following the generations who did that in the past. This place could again be a home........

🪺🔍 Do you recognize which species this nest belongs to? In one of our projects in French Guiana, we witnessed the return of life: A nest in one of the trees. The presence of animals in our projects is an ACHIEVEMENT, as the dense canopies of trees provide protection to birds from the sun, rain, and predators. STUDIES SHOW: Restored areas that are 20 years old have a more complex and diverse bird community compared to fragmented primary forest areas… …and gradually, we can see this reality coming to life. BIRDS X FOREST RESTORATION Moreover, recent studies demonstrate the importance of birds in forests and restoration projects: - Wild birds can increase forest carbon storage by up to 3️⃣8️⃣% through their seed dispersal activities. BUT… To ensure effective seed dispersal mediated by birds, it is essential to maintain at least 4️⃣0️⃣% forest cover and ensure that forest patches are no more than 133 meters apart. THAT’S WHY… Seeing birds in our projects or nearby is a source of optimism; it’s a sign that the forest is reconstituting itself and that, gradually, animals are returning – and each one of them matters. Let’s grow: from each leaf to each footprint! 💙 #nest #tropicalforest #wildlife #climateaction

🔥 As the World Burns: A Call to Copywriters and A Plea for Conservation 🔥 In 1914, the last passenger pigeon, Martha, died alone in a cage at the Cincinnati Zoo. Just a few decades earlier, billions of her kind filled the skies, so numerous that they blocked out the sun. Today, they're gone forever. The Rocky Mountain locust once swarmed the western United States in such numbers that they could flatten crops in minutes. Now, not a single one remains. They disappeared so quickly that we still don’t fully understand why. And then there was the Carolina parakeet—beautiful, gregarious, and tragically misunderstood. These vibrant green and yellow birds once filled the forests and swamps of the eastern U.S., chattering and flying in flocks. Hunters would wound one, and when the others flew back to help their fallen friend, they’d be slaughtered too. Their feathers, so striking in life, were torn from their bodies to decorate hats. The Carolina parakeet, the great auk, the thylacine... all vibrant, living beings that walked this Earth—until they didn’t. Imagine the silence left behind by their absence. The skies once filled with passenger pigeons are now empty. The forests that echoed with the calls of the Carolina parakeet are eerily quiet. These aren't just stories from a distant past—they're warnings. They remind us that no species, no matter how numerous or powerful, is immune to extinction. And they remind us that we are the stewards of this planet, holding in our hands the power to preserve or destroy. We cannot afford to wait until the next species slips away into memory. Conservation isn't just about saving animals; it's about saving the intricate web of life that sustains us all. Because once a voice is silenced, it never returns. And our world, already diminished by these losses, will be poorer for it. Let’s act before more of our natural world becomes just another ghost story. #Conservation #Environment #Sustainability #Biodiversity #ActNow

NATURE CANNOT SURVIVE IN FRAGMENTS. There it is - truth in a nutshell. For nature to be healthy, it needs to be able to travel. Whether that's flora or fauna, whether it's bees or birds or amphibians or, well, all of it! Unless there's movement from one places to another, unless cross-fertilization happens at every level of nature, you end up with declining islands of biodiversity. I love below picture. First came across it, and the 'Weald to Waves' project, thanks to Libby Drew of the Knepp Wildland Foundation. Below folks first came together in 2022. As Sussex landowners, they agreed to work together to create a 100-mile corridor. Even now, when you visit the website > https://lnkd.in/dMnQ4yAM you can access the maps and get a sense of just how much is happening toward making that corridor a reality that boosts and restores biodiversity, sequesters carbon ... and helps build up a healthy rural economy that gives rise to flourishing communities in tandem with nature. This is a really good story - check through the website, learn about the method. Reach out to Libby it you, in your area, want to create a similar network, I'm sure she'd be glad to share her insights. Charlie Burrell James Baird Sebastian Anstruther Alexander Briggs Molly Biddell Knepp Estate Rewilding Britain Sussex Wildlife Trust The Wildlife Trusts Cain Blythe Merlin Hanbury-Tenison (extend the corridor!) #rewilding #rewilderweekly #naturerestoration

We don't always have the time or passion to fully-commit to conservation efforts, but there are some small decisions that can have a huge and lasting impact on urban wildlife. These little gestures repeated over and over, yard by yard, park by park (this is what I get to do!), block by block, and at the city scale can quite literally shift the quality of our urban habitats. This is the ultimate objective for achieving biodiversity net gain and requires a little investment from everyone. On this busy (because it's a Monday) #earthday, consider doing something for the #birds. Even a simple modification—like choosing to plant native species in place of annual ornamentals this spring—can have a profound impact. Native plants can be just as regal and pack a punch in terms of urban bird (and insect) support. Some totally achievable tips from National Audubon Society below. Whether you choose one or all, please choose to do something!