NATURE'S HOUSEKEEPING

Wondering how Nature works, I thought there might be a Master List somewhere in the order of Nature's priority as to which species is next to go in the queue.We lived through the Gypsy Moth deforestations in the NE USA though the plague periodically hits and expands its hold of territory. Next we saw the destruction of our magnificent Dutch Elms. Vestiges of its greatness appear in crossword puzzles as '3 letter word for shade tree'. The list grows impossibly long as we wonder whether there is an overall plan somewhere or are our losses a random happening. Will we ever know?

In more recent years Nature has turned the plagues onto so many things...bees, bats, and frogs among them. Frogs have been dying off in great numbers for some time but, only recently have scientists gotten a clue as to how they die. At last the secrets of the frog killer have been laid bare.

The list of extinct animals has grown to great proportions, showing signs of acceleration rather than deceleration.

Are we then to assume that, just as forest fires serve to keep forests alive with new growth and periodic pruning, there is a similar use for all these losses? If you believe in a master plan of some sort, that might be a relevant hypotheses. However, if you don't believe there is a leader out there somewhere making these decisions, you are left to wonder, as I do.