Tiny Creatures with Funny Names

Why Biodiversity Matters

This article originally appeared in our newsletter, Landmarks, Fall 2007

It is easy to trivialize biodiversity, and we see it done all the time. Hold up a picture of a tiny creature or plant with an odd name and say it is stopping us from building a school or houses, or costing hardworking Americans their jobs.

The desire to save these little plants and animals with odd names is not trivial. It is built on both reverence for non-human life and a larger view of what is in our human interest. The words “wonder, awe, and respect” are often used to capture the belief that life on this planet deserves protection. “To me,” Dr. Peter Raven says, “avoiding the destruction of so many of the other organisms in the world is the right thing to do from a moral, ethical, or religious point of view. As far as we know, the living things that share the world with us are the only living things in the whole universe. That alone ought to give us a respect or reverence for life.”

The words “useful” and “sustainability” are often used when talking about the practical reasons to protect the world’s species. Most of the top 150 prescription drugs used in the world are derived from plants. “Having a rich array of organisms on Earth,” Dr. Raven says, “Is like having a well-stocked storehouse. Individual organisms provide most of the things we use to support ourselves – our food, the wood we use for shelter, the fibers for clothing, the natural compounds we use as drugs. We can draw on these stores to sustain us in the future.”

Ultimately, saving the tiny plants and animals with funny names is about saving the places they live – it is about land. Habitat loss is the prime driver behind the loss of biodiversity. The species we’re losing are the canaries in our coal mines: they alert us to the danger of losing the lands that we love – and that are the basis of all life, including our own.

The Endangered Species of the Sandhills:

Zayante band-winged grasshopper
Santa Cruz kangaroo rat
Santa Cruz wallflower
Ben Lomond spineflower
Ben Lomond buckwheat
Bonny Doon or silverleaf manzanita
Mount Hermon June beetle

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Find out more about the Sandhills and our Save the Sandhills Campaign

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