Bugs, weeds, fungi, microbes, bats…
People look down on, despise, or don't pay any attention to it.
A loving tribute to life from an elderly biologist

Would it be naive to think that the extinction of certain animals is a more serious problem than the environmental crisis facing humanity? The author, a biologist who pioneered ecological research in Spain, answers the question with a negative.
The conclusion reached by a scholar nearing his eighties after a lifetime of research is self-evident.
The environmental crisis facing humanity is closely intertwined with the biodiversity crisis, and we cannot survive without diverse life forms.
This book clearly shows that we are able to breathe and live thanks to living things that we either ignore or don't pay attention to: beetles that solve crop pollination problems, bats that control pest populations, condors that quickly dispose of animal carcasses, microorganisms that make up and regulate the human body, and oysters that purify water and protect coastlines.

This book, which presents a wealth of research and fascinating scientific facts in an accessible format and expresses gratitude to the precious players in the biosphere, will serve as a valuable guide for facing the severity of biodiversity loss and considering fundamental solutions to the environmental crisis.
In addition to the colorful examples of creatures that always faithfully fulfill their roles, even if they seem insignificant and insignificant to humans, the book is well-mixed with the experience, insight, and loving descriptions of a scholar.

We discussed global warming, ozone layer destruction, inequality, environmental degradation, population growth, consumption, pollution, and more, and my father was not only interested in all of these issues, but also very concerned.
But when we started to deal with the decline of biodiversity and the extinction of plant and animal populations, my father's attitude changed drastically.
“Son, I know you are concerned about the extinction of the sraccoon and are working hard to prevent it.
I don't want that either.
But it doesn't compare to the severity of other problems we've dealt with before.
It's really sad when a species disappears, but it's not dramatic.
“I don’t think it will have much of an impact on us,” he said, and eventually my father demanded that the part be removed from the book.
But when I refused (claiming that this was the only information I had personally learned), my father began to complain to my siblings at mealtime.
“Miguel only wants to talk about plants and animals.
I didn't say that such a story was meaningless.
But I think it would obscure the tragic situation we are trying to address.
People will lose interest in this book.”
At that moment, I decided that I had to convince my father.

--- "Reason for writing this article"

Statins, used to lower cholesterol levels in the blood and one of the most commonly prescribed drugs today, are also derived from fungi.
Rapamycin, an immunosuppressant used in transplant surgery, was derived from another soil bacterium on Easter Island.
There are countless other examples that can be cited.
Some biochemists believe that with the advent of chemical synthesis, where computers and artificial intelligence help design custom molecules, we will no longer need natural products.
However, according to Bernstein and Chivian, about half of the drugs patented between 1981 and 2006 were derived from wild species.

--- "Thanks to the weeds that cure our illnesses"

Just before the turn of the 21st century, another mushroom was discovered in Oregon, and as far as I know, this one currently holds the record.
The mushroom covers an area of ​​about 965 hectares (about 1,500 soccer fields) and is estimated to be between 2,400 and 8,650 years old.
The largest living organism on Earth holds a tremendous secret.
The fact that they're literally bubbling beneath our feet without us even noticing could be a clue that fungi are doing a lot of incredibly important work out of sight?
--- "Thanks to the fungi that sustain life on land"

Researcher Sebensuy Morales of the University of Miguel Hernández and colleagues calculated the greenhouse gases emitted by transporting dead cattle to crematoriums in Spain, which they estimated would cover 50 million kilometers per year and release at least 77,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
If Spain protects and conserves condors, it will be much easier to comply with international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than if it did not.
So we should be grateful to the condor not only for saving us from disease, but also for helping to mitigate global warming.

--- "Thanks to the condor, who clears the fields and saves them from disease"

(…) Although this expression has its own meaning, the Amazon rainforest is not the lungs of the Earth.
The Amazon rainforest produces about 6 percent of the oxygen released into the atmosphere through photosynthesis on Earth, but it consumes all of it itself (along with all living things) through respiration.
Because deforestation has accelerated in recent decades, the Amazon rainforest is releasing as much carbon back into the atmosphere as it absorbs.
In fact, most of the oxygen in the atmosphere comes from the ocean, so we could say that there was enough for us to breathe for millions of years.
(…) If there is one thing we, born on a planet with an essential oxygen supply, should be grateful for first and foremost, it is the cyanobacteria (formerly called blue-green algae) and other photosynthetic organisms that make up marine phytoplankton.

--- "Thanks to phytoplankton, which releases oxygen so we can breathe."

I was thinking about title this chapter 'Thanks to Spiders'.
Spiders are not very popular, despite limiting pests in gardens and farms.
However, after the COVID-19 outbreak, we decided to change the title.
Bats deserve not only fair treatment, but also appreciation.
Unfortunately, soon after the discovery of the now-famous SARS-CoV-2 virus, both health authorities and laypeople alike blamed bats as the source of the disease.
As Javier Juste and several colleagues have pointed out, it is clear that coronaviruses have evolved in association with bats in general, but this is not limited to bats.
It is also clear that, as far as I know, no one has proven that a specific bat species is the origin of the virus that is killing us.
But this hasn't stopped hundreds of thousands of these flying mammals from being slaughtered around the world, particularly in Asia and South America, in the name of fighting the pandemic.
In this situation, it would be valuable to extend a helping hand to bats, while also giving them a place in the hierarchy of creatures that serve humanity without any compensation.

--- "Thanks to bats, we control potential pests."

Jaime Lau, a biologist from the University of Osorno in Chile, was in Spain with his wife, Angelica, to complete his doctoral dissertation with us.
He studied the ecology of foxes living in national parks, particularly by collecting and analyzing fox droppings to find out what they eat and live on.
One autumn day, he slung his bag over his shoulder and went out to the northwest, where the sand dunes and the breeding facility were, and picked up sizable clumps of dung, placing them in paper bags.
It was the rainy season, so the excrement was still a little wet, so I thought I'd dry the specimen, put the paper bag on a plastic tray, and store it on a shelf, and to be honest, I forgot about it for a while.
Three months later, when I suddenly remembered the tray and looked for it, it had already turned into a greenhouse, and there, dozens of seeds had grown into tiny sabina and juniper seedlings.
He excitedly told me the news and let me see it for myself.
Of course, we both knew that foxes eat the berries of the sabina tree and excrete the germinable seeds, but it was exciting to see it firsthand when we hadn't expected it.

--- "Thanks to the foxes who spread the seeds of trees and shrubs"

We owe more and more to nature.
We are exploiting some resources (like biodiversity and fossil fuels) and making others pay the price.
But when natural resources are depleted, all these schemes will collapse.
We talk about wealth creation, even calculating how much we can create, but what is clear is that we live in a world that is becoming increasingly impoverished.
Pursuing economic growth at the expense of the environment cannot continue indefinitely.
It is unsustainable.
We need to adapt to the post-growth era as quickly as possible.

--- "Epilogue"