Top Heavy Ecosystems

[Hydromancerx]

I have notices that many people have been making mostly big fauna again. While some is ok so many is not. We need many more little macro fauna (and microbes and flora). I got a California Autoboun book recently and  here is the break down of diversity...

• 1 Large Carnivore (Cougar)
• 6 Medium Carnivores (Bobcat, Coyote, Kit Fox, Gray Fox, Red Fox, Badger)
• 7 Small Carnivores (Weasels and stuff)
• 1 Large Omnivore (Black Bear)
• 3 Medium Omnivores (Raccoon, Ringtail, Possum)
• 6 Small Insectivores (Bats, Shews, Moles
• 4 Large Herbivores (Deer, Bighorn Sheep, Elk, Prong Horn)
• 6 Medium Herbivores (Rabbit, Beaver)
• 27 Small Herbivores (Mice, Squirrels, Chipmunks)

As you can see there are much less large than there are small. We should have more. This was just mammals. I mean there were like 80 song birds, 10 birds of prey, 7 nectavores, then sea birds, waterfowl, tons of reptiles, amphibians, insects, etc.

It seems a bit lop sided when say we have like 5 big carnivores, 2 large herbivores, 1 small herbivore and and a hand full of detivores, nectavores etc.

In short I am thinking of putting a ban on creatures over 1 m for awhile that way we will be forced to make smaller creatures for the base of the ecosystem.

[Maineiac]

this counts for plants and the atmosphere?

[Neoskel]

You know, i think i might have that same book.

But, of course the list in the book isn't complete. And this is a post-urbanized environment we're talking about too. Humans drive out big predators and remove the habitat for big herbivores, leaving perfect conditions for a variety of small and medium sized adaptable animals while driving or killing off more specialized creatures.

Another thing is that the number of species of prey doesn't necessarily represent the availability of prey. Mice may be the only prey item of a certain size on farms in Australia, but oftentimes they're literally knee-deep in the critters. There may be hundreds of species of bugs living in the desert, but good luck finding many of them.

Hydro is still right about the fact that we need to concentrate more on small creatures though. I know that people connect more with larger animals, but we need smaller animals more right now.

[Hydromancerx]

this counts for plants and the atmosphere?

Flora can be bigger. See the general section for the rules on the 1 m thing.

1 m Limit - Please Read
http://sagan4.com/forum/index.php?topic=2441.0

You know, i think i might have that same book.

But, of course the list in the book isn't complete. And this is a post-urbanized environment we're talking about too. Humans drive out big predators and remove the habitat for big herbivores, leaving perfect conditions for a variety of small and medium sized adaptable animals while driving or killing off more specialized creatures.

Another thing is that the number of species of prey doesn't necessarily represent the availability of prey. Mice may be the only prey item of a certain size on farms in Australia, but oftentimes they're literally knee-deep in the critters. There may be hundreds of species of bugs living in the desert, but good luck finding many of them.

Hydro is still right about the fact that we need to concentrate more on small creatures though. I know that people connect more with larger animals, but we need smaller animals more right now.

Yeah your right it was post urban but still the numbers of large creatures no longer there still scale up to many more smaller than bigger.

Your also right that some areas can have less diversity and still large populations. But the point of the project is to have as much diversity as possible. And within that diversity to have it more balanced to how ecosystems work on Earth with many smaller creatures and fewer larger ones.