Why elephants, otters and whales are nature’s secret weapons against climate breakdown

New research shows how species boost the amount of carbon stored in their ecosystems – and why protecting them is vital

Initial herds of Wildebeest and Zebra arrive at the Sand River, on the banks of Tanzania's Serengeti National Park before crossing onto Masai Mara on the Kenyan side during the start of the spectacular annual migration. The Wildebeest Migration, is one of the Seven New Wonders of the World in which over two million head of mainly Wildebeest and Zebra migrate from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the greener pastures of the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya during July through to October. Picture: Tony Karumba/AFP

What do elephants, otters, and whales have in common? They all increase the amount of carbon that can be stored in their ecosystems. Elephants disperse seeds and trample low vegetation, enabling taller trees to grow. Sea otters eat sea urchins, allowing kelp to flourish. Whales feed at depth and release nutrients as they breathe and rest at the surface, stimulating phytoplankton production.

It isn’t just these three. We are beginning to learn that many species have complex effects on their environments that change the amount of carbon stored by their surrounding ecosystems — ultimately affecting climate change. When the population of wildebeest in the Serengeti plummeted due to disease, they no longer grazed as much, and the uneaten grass caused more frequent and more intense fires. Bringing back the numbers of wildebeest through disease management has meant fewer and smaller fires. And the Serengeti has gone from releasing carbon back to storing it.