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by astrodust 3568 days ago
Rabbits have completely transformed the Australian continent, one so dramatic you can see the effects from space. (http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/181383/view) Cane toads have a smaller but measurable effect since they utterly ruin entire ecosystems.

If you think it's impossible for a single organism to have an effect on climate you're mistaken. Wolves, once reintroduced to Yellowstone, have changed the entire park, altering water flow on a massive scale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

2 comments

http://warnercnr.colostate.edu/ess-news-and-events/news-head... - "Conservationists Crying Wolf? New Study Shows Yellowstone’s Ecosystem Dynamics More Complex than Trophic Cascade"

"Our results contribute to a growing body of evidence showing that changes in growth of woody deciduous plants following the reintroduction of wolves cannot be explained by the trophic cascade model alone"

> Rabbits have completely transformed the Australian continent, one so dramatic you can see the effects from space. (http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/181383/view)

I don't get it. Which side are the rabbits?

It's the right side, but the so-called effects purported to be visible in this photo are not from the rabbits - the left side of the picture is densely agricultural, while the right side is not.