Doomsday Bunker Upgrade Chapter 522: Ecological problems
In terms of ecosystem research, Chen Xin can't help much, after all, this is not his area of expertise.
However, he is quite good at biological cultivation.
After all, when the large-scale cold-resistant wolf dog was cultivated before, Chen Xin personally presided over the whole project, and the whole process of cultivation was also involved in the whole process, even including the training and actual use after the individual was cultivated. Chen Xin participated in it, which can be called Experience.
It's just that the animals needed to build the ecosystem are not large animals, or the need for large animals is not that great.
In natural ecosystems and food chains, large animals usually live at the top of the food chain, which is the last link in the closed loop of the entire ecosystem.
Also known as rabbits eating grass, wolves eating rabbits, wolves die in rotten fields, and then grow grass again, the ecological niche of wolves.
This ecological niche is necessary in the natural cycle, because if rabbits have no natural enemies, they will reproduce unrestrictedly, eventually breaking the limit of what the environment can bear, leading to the collapse of the entire ecosystem.
This is something the Kangaroo Nation knew very well, even before the disaster.
In those days, the Kangaroo Country unscrupulously slaughtered the native thylacine and other top creatures of the food chain. As a result, the local rabbits, kangaroos and other creatures lost their natural enemies, and the number began to multiply, destroying the grassland, and causing the local ecology to deteriorate sharply. The country's animal husbandry has suffered a heavy blow, and kangaroos are even more flooded.
At that time, the Kangaroo Country also tried to make some efforts, such as banning the hunting of thylacines and offering bounties to rabbits and kangaroos, but in the end, the results were little, and the country even required the country to introduce wolves from abroad to curb the breeding of rabbits.
The reason is that they killed off a creature at the top of the ecological niche, causing the entire biological chain to lose its balance.
But if it is placed in a small ecological environment like the dome city, the existence of this large predator is not necessary.
It is easy to understand that such a small ecological environment has limited carrying capacity and cannot maintain the survival needs of large predators.
This is also the reason why the old saying says that one mountain cannot tolerate two tigers. Large predators in the wild will have their own territory, and other large predators on the territory are driven out to ensure that they can obtain enough food.
But a small ecological environment like a dome city is not far from carrying some herbivorous or omnivorous animals. Large predators such as wolves and tigers are really unnecessary, and at the same time, they are likely to threaten the city. safety of residents.
As for smaller predators such as cats and dogs, they are also not suitable for Dome City, but they are not suitable because of breeding problems.
Anyone who knows a little about ecosystems will know that in an ecological niche, the more organisms at the top of the food chain, the rarer the number and the more difficult it is to reproduce.
Top predators such as tigers and lions and other large predators, can produce three to four cubs in one litter, which is already a very productive number, usually only one or two, and they breed once a year, Population numbers are difficult to expand.
As for small and medium-sized predators such as cats and dogs, the relative reproductive ability is stronger. It is a common thing to have three or four babies.
If it is a smaller animal, their reproduction number will be more, like a mouse, a litter of a dozen or so is not enough for small creatures.
The smaller the body size, the more it can only rely on numbers to ensure population continuity.
This is not the restriction of the rules of the world, but the inevitability of biological evolution and ecological evolution.
And most importantly, if the dome city wants to maintain the self-sustaining, operation and balance of the ecosystem, it needs more tiny creatures such as earthworms that we can't see at all, rather than cats and dogs. Dogs are such a big guy.
"Then what if you want to raise cats and dogs?" During lunch, Mo Qingyan asked Chen Xin with great concern after listening to Chen Xin talking about these questions.
She has always wanted to have a cat, a cute kitten, which is very different from Qin Lan who wants to raise a dog and train it as a police dog.
"It depends on how you want to keep them. If you only keep them as pets at home, it's not a big problem. Just make sure that the cats and dogs have enough food, be neutered, and don't let the cats and dogs run around. It’s similar to keeping pets in the past, and it won’t cause too much burden to the ecology.” Chen Xin really thought about this issue seriously. As one of the animals that have the closest relationship with humans, there must be many people who want to keep cats and dogs. dog's.
When disaster strikes, it is very difficult to ensure the survival of people. Pets such as cats and dogs are not considered at all. Therefore, in addition to private shelters, there may be some pets or animals raised in official shelters. No one brought pets in.
Now that the situation is getting better and supplies are guaranteed, there will definitely be people like Mo Qingyan who want to keep pets to accompany them.
In Chen Xin's view, this is not a big deal. Although some people will say that people can't eat enough to feed their pets, but in Chen Xin's view, as long as people who want to keep pets are willing to It is not impossible to do more labor and get paid enough to keep a pet.
But after listening to his answer~IndoMTL.com~ Mo Qingyan had some more thoughts, so she asked him: "Then if pets run away and become stray cats and dogs, what will happen to them? How's it going?"
"If this is the case, then we can only hunt and kill." Chen Xin's words showed a trace of cruelty, but he explained patiently: "The damage to the ecology by stray cats and dogs is very serious, and dogs are a little better. , does not have a particularly strong desire to hunt.
But in the case of cats, they are an animal full of hunting impulses, and it is also a rare animal in the animal kingdom that hunts for fun. Even if a cat is neutered, it will not reproduce. The presence also poses a great threat to the local ecology.
So if there are stray animals such as cats and dogs in the wild of the dome city, they can only be hunted. After all, the ecology of the dome city is much more fragile than the natural ecology in the original urban environment. What comes is the collapse of the entire ecological environment. "
"Well, I can understand that stray cats and dogs themselves are a very harmful problem." Regarding Chen Xin's attitude on this issue, Mo Qingyan showed an understanding attitude, but hers Emotions are clearly still a little low.
Book Reading House