Interfering with Nature – Should We Get Involved?

On its back with its feet in the air, a wood louse was stranded in the middle of the patio.

Defenceless and in the open, its future looked bleak.

Gallantly, we came to the rescue. We turned it over. But, more than that, we moved it to a less exposed part of the garden where we had some rotting wood – an environment which we thought would be much more to its liking.

But did we act too hastily? Did we do the right thing?

Certainly, there are no issues with saving a life. We were giving it a second chance. But, moving the wood louse to a different part of the garden…. Was that such a wise move?

Our well-intentioned act may have disturbed the delicate balance of Nature. In the insect world, this seemingly innocuous action may amount to a tsunami of drama and change.

First of all, and most immediately, the wood louse may have young offspring that it is raising. Moving it from its territory means it will no longer be able to feed and nurture those offspring, so they will die. Our saving of a single life may have led to the killing of many.

Secondly, most animals are territorial. So, moving an individual out of its territory creates a space for others of its species to compete for. The territorial balance will be disturbed. We may have instigated an outbreak of wood lice wars on our patio.

For the conveyed wood louse, it is now without a territory – effectively in a foreign land – so it will have to compete in order to gain one. It will be like starting out in life again.

Even more significantly, our actions may have a determining influence on the wider wood lice population. We may have moved the wood louse into a wholly new environment, an environment inhabited by a slightly different strain of wood louse. If our wood louse establishes itself and successfully reproduces, then its variant genes will enter the local wood louse population. Suddenly, like throwing a grenade into a crowded room, we have introduced new genes into that localised environment’s evolutionary mix.

Admittedly, our wood louse has not moved far, but it may be far enough to impact the evolutionary course, and if we had moved it further, to the local park, for instance, then the effect might have been even greater.

Who knows what effect our wood louse will go on to have!

Inadvertently, have we perhaps done what settlers did to Australia in the eighteenth century, taking rabbits to the new continent? The rabbits were initially caged and used for food, but later released for recreational hunting. There are now approaching 200 million of them in the wild. They have become a pest, destroying crops and contributing to the decline and extinction of many native plants and animals.

There are countless other examples of invasive species wiping out existing populations: grey squirrels, Japanese knotweed, Asian hornets, American mink…

These invasive misdemeanours usually stem from our human actions, both from our ignorance and our innocence. Too often, we act without thinking it through. Humanity – the bull in the china shop.

Similarly, our wood louse’s re-homing was poorly thought out. Good intentions, but we can’t say we gave too much thought to the wider ecological consequences.

Of course, there is a more positive viewpoint we could take. Our actions, rather than being seen as negative and interfering, could be considered as more positive and facilitative. By moving our garden wood louse, we are giving Nature the chance to be genetically creative. We have helped to stir the genetic mixing pot. There’s the possibility of new genes that can be galvanised for species improvement. It’s an opportunity for Nature to progress.

Either way, whether we have been a force for good or ill, there may be no limit to the impact we have had. If our wood louse introduces new genetic traits into the rotting-wood population, the wood lice will gain an evolutionary advantage, and other species will suffer in the short term. Those other species will have to adapt to the newly adapted wood louse. There will be a ripple effect, and, like a butterfly flapping its wings on the other side of the world, our wood louse changes the course of evolutionary destiny.

Nature – so intricate, so fragile, so vulnerable – is an interwoven network of activity that rests on a delicate balance but which can so easily be disturbed when something new and varied is thrown into the mix.

But please, do not be so quick to judge. There should be no blame, accusations or criticisms. As mitigation, we offer the fact that our – as will everyone’s – daily consumptions, activities and life choices will be far more impactful on Nature. In the wider scheme of things, our moving of a wood louse really doesn’t amount to very much.

Even so, our actions have been interfering. We have acted as a mini-God with the power of life and death and the ability to shape the world of Nature.

Perhaps we should be rather more wary and considerate of such actions in the future. Maybe we should have just left the wood louse to its fate. Perhaps we should just let Nature take its course.

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