Madeleine Alder - 2021

Biodiversity in the Logan River Ecosystem

As I created this piece, I hoped to connect people to the biodiversity in their surroundings and build awareness of the importance of each organism in an ecosystem. I painted small “snapshots” of a few key players in the Logan River riparian ecosystem to help viewers understand the interconnected puzzle of flora and fauna that makes up our local landscape. My hope is that this piece inspires people to be more aware of the biodiversity in our region and more passionate about protecting these plants and animals. In this class, the societal and ecological crisis that stood out most poignantly to me came from our discussion about biodiversity. I learned that ecosystems are highly interconnected, and the equilibrium relationship that is vital to the success of any ecosystem can be quickly thrown off by the loss or endangerment of just one species. Habitat destruction, climate change, and other factors are threatening the biodiversity of ecosystems at an alarming rate. A 2018 WWF report disclosed that the Living Planet Index, which is a measurement of population abundance, showed an approximate decrease by 60%, which indicates that the abundance of animal and plant populations is decreasing at an extremely dangerous pace. I was shocked when I learned this and I was inspired to explore the importance of biodiversity through art. My goal was to communicate the diversity that can be found in even a small region and show that each species is necessary to the overall ecosystem health. I decided to zoom in on an ecosystem close to home and explore the flora and fauna of Logan Canyon. I began my research by speaking with Emeritus Professor Dr. Leila Shultz, who spent her career studying conservation biology and plant ecology. She is an expert on local flora; she worked for decades as a field biologist in the Western United States, published a digital Atlas of Utah Plants, and worked as the curator of the Intermountain Herbarium. Dr. Shultz helped me identify noteworthy plants in the Logan River ecosystem, and I also consulted resources from the USU library about local animal wildlife. I even took a field visit to the Logan River and was delighted to see the familiar landscape through new eyes. As I turned my research into art, I chose to highlight an original perspective by painting small swatches that represented each organism, instead of creating portraits of the animal or plant. This approach offered a balanced composition that communicated the equilibrium relationship that is essential in any healthy ecosystem. I also chose to include the Latin names in my final display in order to capture how these species are known in the scientific community. As the project came together, I was able to visualize the interconnectedness of a single ecosystem and communicate that the dangerous consequences that come when one species is threatened.