It's the goal of every ecologist to understand ecosystems. Yet if there's one thing an ecosystem is, it's very complicated.
Robert Dewreede is all too aware of this. He studies seaweed and its environment. Dewreede warns that human activity can have a strong impact on even the smallest plants and animals. The results can be devastating. And unpredictable.
"It's difficult to predict how we're going to affect the system because it's so complex," says Dewreede. All algae, seaweed included, are primary oxygen producers in the oceans. What's more, the algae are at the base of the food chain. They also help to ease global warming. The world's algae population absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide.
All of this means that algae is very important to the biosphere -- which includes all life on the planet. But pollution and other human activity is having more and more of an effect on algae populations.
Dewreede refers to "chaos theory" when he suggests that we can't tell for sure what's going to happen if even the slightest change in the system is made. Like the straw that broke the camel's back, even the slightest change in the algae's environment could one day throw the whole "eco-equation" off balance. The new environment created could easily be hostile to humans.
It's enough to make an ecologist jumpy. As Dewreede puts it, "It's made me skeptical of simplistic solutions."
Indeed, much of the ecologist's work concerns the impact humans have on natural ecosystems. Working as an industrial consultant and researcher, Steve Grosnickel has seen the trouble we can cause. As an ecophysiologist, Grosnickel studies trees rather than seaweed.
"I've worked on all kinds of devastated sites -- dams, mining sites, deforested sites," says Grosnickel. Having seen the damage humanity has done to the environment, he appreciates what he does and gets the greatest feeling of accomplishment from his job. "I've spent the last 20 years trying to put it back together. I like the feeling that I'm contributing to something."
All the same, Grosnickel keeps this complexity of nature in mind as his firm works on developing a weevil-resistant breed of tree for tree farms. Over the years, his company has to monitor the growth of these "designer" trees and study how they respond to the environment. Though the trees may be resistant to weevils, other problems may arise.
Grosnickel must be aware of how having fewer weevils affects other organisms. He needs to look at how they, in turn, may affect other factors in the trees' environment. The fact that his trees are all clones makes them potentially vulnerable to other hazards.
These complexities keep ecologists excited about their work. But nature often makes a more direct impact on the researchers themselves. Dewreede says one of the greatest things about being an ecologist is "getting outside and working with organisms."
One December day, Dewreede and a student were at the ocean shoreline, taking samples in freezing weather. It was so early that it was still dark, but they had to be there when the tides were right. Suddenly, a huge wave crashed over the rocks, swept them off their feet and out into a tidal pool of ice water. Unpredictable enough for you?
Dewreede admits it's not all that bad. Luckily for him, seaweed is everywhere. While working on his PhD, Dewreede assisted in setting up seaweed farms in the Philippines. He enjoys the travel and the exotic experiences. "I've run into all kinds of animals in my travels -- lots of sharks and seals," he says.
For Grosnickel, it's a similar experience but a different setting. He doesn't run into many sharks, but he's seen his share of bears. Though he spends most of his time in the office and lab these days, he remembers his days in the field.
"The most memorable times were when I could watch the sun rise over the mountaintops. I guess it was about enjoying being part of nature," he says.
Grosnickel remembers one sunrise in particular. He was working at a mine site on a mountaintop, 10,500 feet up. It was a humbling experience. "Seeing all of nature in such splendor is awesome. And yet there you are, collecting your little numbers, trying to understand how it all works."
Understanding how it all works is what ecology is all about. Nancy Grimm, a research scientist at Arizona State University, maintains that it's the integration of so many disciplines that excites her about her work.
"It's an integrative science that requires bringing together biology, geography, physiology and almost any other science you can think of," she says. But, again, the fieldwork is especially memorable.
Grimm recalls doing research in the desert with some colleagues. They had to camp out on the ground for several days. One evening they were startled to see a rattlesnake come through the camp. Then another. Then another. Six rattlers in total slithered through their camp.
By the end of the evening, everyone had abandoned the idea of tenting it. They slept in their trucks. "It must have been a migration route or something," says Grimm.
No doubt you'll quickly gain a respect for nature's complexity -- if you haven't already. Humans have a huge impact on ecosystems that are incredibly complicated. Whether it's snakes, weevils, sharks or seaweed, it's all part of one big equation that the ecologist struggles to understand.