Nature's Puzzle

Nature's Puzzle. Saving all the pieces. , “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find that it is latched to everything else in the Universe.” , John Muir, Biological diversity, or biodiversity, makes life on Earth possible. The soil where our food grows, the air we breathe, the flight of a hummingbird and the graceful bloom of a Blue Flag Iris---all of these are interconnected like the pieces of a puzzle., Plants are the basis of all life. Imagine the picture on the right with NO plants…How would the animals survive without the plants? The water beetle feeds on water plants and the frog eats the beetle. When the frog dies, it sinks to the bottom of the pond and becomes food for the crayfish, which then becomes food for the raccoon. Without plants, the water beetle would not survive, so neither the frog, crayfish and raccoon. If only one part of the diversity of plant life is lost, we would lose so much more than one piece of the puzzle. Can you identify the other connections in this picture?, The quality of our lives depends on protecting clean water, clean air and a diversity of plant and animal life for ourselves, our children and future generations., “The last word in ignorance is to say of an animal or plant. What good is it? –To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering. , Aldo Leopold