Many wonders can be found in the Mediterranean Sea.
This photograph shows us a detail of the great Mediterranean scallop (Pecten jacobaeus) and the Mediterranean feather star (Antedon mediterranea), both endemic species of the Mediterranean Sea.
Endemic species are species that can only be found in one specific location or area – having that in mind, it is clear that some endemic species are less common than others.
For example, some freshwater fish species are found in only one river and nowhere else in the world, while these two species can be found in almost all parts of the Mediterranean Sea, which covers an area of around 2.500.000 square kilometres.
Therefore, some endemic species are classified as endangered, but endemic does not necessarily mean endangered.
These two species are not endangered, and as the great Mediterranean scallop is edible, it is commercially exploited for food.
It is somehow easy to let other species be, as long as they are not important to us – economically, industrially, for food, for entertainment, or any other purpose. But when they become valued, they become valuable. And through time, many of them become endangered through the unsustainable catch.
On the other hand, there are many species that do not offer us a visible purpose or way of using them, and in that case, we often hear questions similar to: “What is its purpose?” What is the purpose of a wasp, or a mosquito, or the Mediterranean feather star? Does there really have to be a human-approved reason for its or any other organism’s existence?
In many cases, one has to know a certain species’ biology in detail to be able to evaluate its complex ecological contribution. In many cases, even biologists do not know much about the biology and the ecology of some species.
If you are a biologist, you surely have a formed bond with nature. But this text is focused on those who have not found that bond yet.
If you are not a biologist, you do not have to know the name of that animal or plant, you do not have to know anything about its biological and ecological features. You do not have to find a purpose for it all.
Instead, you can imagine a forest with only one bird singing. Always the same couple of melodies, only the ones that it knows, over and over again.
Imagine a river full of only one species of algae, thriving and growing restlessly.
Imagine all the world’s meadows with only one type of flower. Only one colour everywhere, always the same fragrance wherever you go.
Imagine a sea with a coral reef and only one species of fish. Without a myriad of different vibrant colours and shapes of tropical fish.
Imagine if every next person that you meet had the same hair colour, the same shape of eyes, the same height, the same tone of their voice. The same character.
Diversity is beautiful. Reality without diversity is unimaginable. The world would be a sad place without all the colours, sounds, shapes, without different kinds of existence.
If you are not a biologist, find beauty in the biodiversity that we have today. It is inexplicably grand, this beauty that we witness. It is richness. It is freedom. And if nothing else, that can be the sole purpose of every species to you. Bringing one more tiny sparkle of light and tone of colour in this deeply complex rainbow of life.
Literature
jakobova kapica. Hrvatska enciklopedija, mrežno izdanje. Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža, 2020.
stapčari. Hrvatska enciklopedija, mrežno izdanje. Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža, 2020.
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=124208