Exploring green horizons: the intersection between adventure and ecology - Vol 6 Sneak Peek
How the spirit of adventure connects us to the natural world.
Article by: Bethany Pihama
Artwork by: Sabela Argibay
When the word ‘adventure’ comes to mind, it often has connotations of people climbing immense mountains, hiking over lush green horizons and exploring unfamiliar environments. If you think about it, all of those conventional notions linked to the word adventure usually involve being immersed in nature of some kind.
The act of exploration itself is intrinsically linked to ecology, and the intersectional link between the environment and people plays a fundamental role in this. To put it more simply, if we care about the environment and spend time in nature ourselves, we are more motivated to protect it.
The role of exploration
If we look at major ecological discoveries, exploration and adventure have no doubt played a key role since the very beginning.
In 1831, the HMS Beagle set off on a journey to South America to survey its coastline, with naturalist Charles Darwin aboard. As a naturalist, he spent much of his time noting down his observations of species and their distinctive behavioural traits, as well as collecting specimens from across areas of South America. On his travels he visited the Galapagos Islands, finding various species of finch across the islands, all with slightly different adaptations.
From this expedition he collected hundreds of notes and analysed the species he found on his trip closely when he arrived home in London. It was this work which played a great role in backing up his scientific research into evolutionary theory, showing how species can adapt according to their environments. There is no doubt that the adventure Darwin undertook to South America, the places and the biodiversity which he recorded in person, was invaluable in aiding the theory of natural selection, which has underpinned ecology ever since.
Darwin’s adventures are just one example of how the practice of exploration frequently leads to critical discoveries revolving around species and their habitats. It was only last year that scientists from the Natural History Museum documented that a record-breaking new 815 species were discovered in 2023. This illustrates that it is crucial that we continue to explore our environment. Recording and finding species is vital in our battle against climate change and biodiversity loss; increasing our scientific understanding in how we can best protect species from the dangerous impacts of climate change and driving innovation.
In February 2024, researchers found a remarkable species named Rao’s intermediate golden-backed frog (Hylarana intermedia). The reason why this particular frog discovery stunned many scientists across the globe is down to the fact it had a Bonnet mushroom (Mycena sp.), growing out of the side of its leg. According to researchers, this is the first instance of a saprophytic fungus being recorded growing from a live frog. Regardless of the fact this could have easily been a character in HBO’s TV series The Last of Us, this is yet another prime example of how much more we have yet to discover about our beautiful planet and how exploration plays a vital role in our greater understanding of it.
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