aruelope ioiiow wiidebeesr ioliow eiepharu ior some
such seouerrse) ror many herd species.

nus suggssis ihai iniorrned grariers, knowing ihe
preierences oi driiereni species lshecp iollow caiiie
iollow horses irillow goaisl can make much boiler use
oi ihe basic browse resource by scheduling roialion
lrroi io keep one level oi browse eonsiani. bui ro
dynamieaiiy bdlamle is by species suecessioni

Scheduling lihe "ugh is use a paroeular space ai a
speoiirc omel omirs wiihrn species, where dorninani
animals use prime grar g land ai prime rune, and
sub-dominanis are pushed lo ihe edge oi lime and
spaee, or beeween species, so ihai sequences oi diners
eni speeres use ihe some area oi vegeiairon ar drilereni
seasoro or shgts oi growih. No individual 'owils“ ihe
area, you a hmhspaze slni (Ilke a chair in a iarnrly
kiiciien ai dinnerlrmel. in Tasmania, their are iwo
prune irnie amvriy peaks ior wallaby over 24 hours,
boih ai nighi ihe main one is erepuscuiar lyusl aiier
sundownl, and ihe secondary one is auroral lirisi
beiore dawni nus perrnrisdrgesove and recuperarive
resi periods, denied io weaker animals who cannoi
compeie ior preierred periods wiihrn ihis lummurk
any possum can, by aggression, drsplare a wallaby as a
ladmyylim Any individual holds a place only ior a
shori lime, moving on io coniesi anorher area uniil
saiiaied. Thus, ihe sharing oi resources is a complex
dynamic, bui no species or individual hn sole nghis,
A human analogy would be ihai oi a spmls—gluund
used by driiereni sporis groups or more, by gulls or
rodenis whenever spons are noi being played, and by
worms aiall nines

To surnrrrirrse. we have

- Niche in space, or 'renilory' inesl and iorage
suesl,

- Niche in lime ((ycles oi oppominuyi, and

. Ni:Mlnspa<v~lime(srhzdnlrs)

beiween “use, lhere is always space or iirrre avails
rble io increase rurnovcr, Niches enable beiier
uulrsaiion and grearer diversliy, hence more yield. oi
all oi ihese nrehis, scheduln are ihe besi sriaiegy ior
hiring in new species ol mammals, providing ihese are
noi ierriioi-ral species lwhich iry to hold iheu own
space ai all i esl, bui are chosen irom cooperairve
sped: which yield space when ihe brie is nghi (see
rigure 2.9. There are lessons here ior people ihose
who iry lo hold on ro all ihings ai all limes preveni
iheu use by oihers

 

 

 

2.7

PYRAMIDS, FOOD WEBS, GROWTH,
AND VEGETARIANISM

A iigure oilen used lo lxplam how much oi a lood or
iorage is needed ro grow anorher animal is ihe irophir
pyrornrd While ihe pyramid is a useiiil soncepi, ii is
very simplisoc, and all inii laboraiory condioorrs or
leedeloi sinraiioris 'I is unrelaiod io lield reaiiiy, and

 

23

may only apply where we aciually provide simple iood
lo capuve speoes The iield condirron is very diiicrerri
irigure m

The pyramid is oilen used in suppori claim ihai we
should all beeome vegeiariahs, or herbivores This is
perhaps noi so iar irom ihe iruih, bui ihere arr
leakwmld iaciors io consider i have shown ihe
pyramid and also a drrece paih (herbage io human) ro
illusiraie how wc would suppen more people ii we are
vegeianon bui we need or re-eaanune ihrs coreepi ior
people who reiurn iheir wasies io gardens niere are
iheioliowing iaciors io consider:

I NATURE is MUCH MORE COMPLEX ihan is
shown in a pyramid. ins-cad oi simple 'iiophre levels,
we have a complex inieraeiron oi ihe same species,
largely governed noi by iood habus, bui by pasiuie
managemeni praeirees, Such a eomplex diagram is
called a /ood arch, and is ihe normaliiy in iield
condiuons

1. menos IGNORE FEEDBACK. in a very real
sense vegeiaiiori evenrually -eais grasshoppers, hogs.
iish, and people Nor only ihai, bui as an animal grows,
u rerurris norrreni (n ihe soi via extmldr moulred, or
disearded body wasies, and even ii ihe irog cars In kg
oi grasshoppers io make one kilo oi irog, ii doesn‘i
lobvrouslyl keep ihe in kg in a bag, buiexcreiesokgor
more back |o earih as manures This causes more
vegeiairon lo grow, lhus producing more grasshoppers
The rrianure iioro inseoi 'pesls" may be ihe basis oi a
regenerauve iiriure evoluiion

wiih ihese obvious leedbaclss, ihe web irreli becomes
much more sompleio and ii siaris io resemble less oi a
oneway siairease flh: pyrarnrdl ihan a series oi cyclic
evenis; less oi a riggurai and more like a spiders web.
So ihai ihe real posi on is ihai wasie recyellng lo
herbage ii the rriain producer oi ihai herbage,

3. WHAT or MATURITY? ii our irsh (kl/cl u was a
(up, and ihai carp was more ihan a year or two old,
ihen u would probably have reached rull size, alihonigh
ii may ihen soniinrie io live loranoiherwmo years

so now, ihe carp iai so years old and in kg wergbil
haseaien moi 10kg: imokgoiirogsandinseas,
and has reiur-ned 990 kg oi digcsied rriaienal per yerrr
io ihe pond, io gpow more herbage Thus, in order io
keep ihe syslem in growlh, we musi be able to
eiiicienily crop any level jusi beiore maiuriiy is
reached, We can see mat old or maiure sysiems no
longer use iood iar gmwih bui ior minimanre, 50 ii rs
wrlh marure iish, irogs, ioressr, and people.

old organisms ihus bxvme consiani recyclers liood
in. wasie our) and eerse io grow, or ihey even begin lo
lose weighi, This u why we iry to use only young and
growrng planis and arurnals lor iood, ri iood is scarce.
An earepoon is a iruii ur nui nee, where we consume
seed or iruis iseed isan imniaiure zreei.

s ARE FOOD CHAINS so siMl-uiv We know ihai
people normally cai vegeiairoo, and |hil many people
ear grasshoppers, irogs, irsh, and (a! hints) oiher
people Even a row eais grasshoppers as u eals grass,
and oi course every eaier ingosis large ouanirrrcs oi