How Animals Helped Shape Earth

WASHINGTON — The landscapes and terrain of the Earth have changed gradually over time. Tectonic activity, large-scale weather events, climate change and natural progression have all had an impact. One other key factor? Animals. The Earth provides a home to animals, and they in turn have a significant impact on shaping their environment. 

A new review, the largest of its kind, details how over 600 species have changed the Earth, and to what degree. 

Animals and the Geomorphic Process

Animals have always had a documented geomorphic (changing the form of the surface of the Earth) effect on their environments. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London sought to compile this evidence in their new review, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in February 2025.

Little things animals do, or “small-scale disturbances,” lead to massive changes. For example, animals that disturb the soil (like termites and ants, pigs, rabbits, and armadillos) change the health, abundance, and richness of plants. Another classic, well-known example is when beavers build dams, which changes river systems.

Global Diversity and Energy of Animals Shaping the Earth’s Surface

The new review from London is the largest global synthesis on 603 species of animals and their geomorphic impact. It includes information on how the biodiversity of the animals affects different types of ecosystems and how much energy goes into the processes.

Animals and Environments

Researchers covered freshwater and terrestrial environments, and noted a lack of research in tropical and subtropical regions and the less visible animals that inhabit them.

Of the 603 animal taxa in the review, 459 are wild animals, and five are livestock taxa. Over a third of these species are freshwater animals, even though freshwater only covers 2.4% of the Earth’s surface. 

Amount of Energy

Another aspect of the review was calculating how much energy these small disturbances add up to. They measure it in biomass, defined as “renewable organic material that comes from plants and animals.” 

Researchers estimate wild animals contribute 76,000 gigajoules to geomorphic processes per year. To put that number into perspective, this is the amount of energy equivalent to “hundreds of thousands of extreme floods.”

Implications

What does it all mean?

The energy expenditure of animals as geomorphic agents is a “significant and overlooked driver of landscape change” worldwide. Almost 30% of the included species are “rare, endemic, or threatened.” If these animals go extinct, there could be significant consequences for the ecosystems and landscapes they impact.

The new research makes a case for how conserving biodiversity can help repair ecosystems. Rewilding and reintroducing certain species may help restore landscapes affected by erosion and flooding.

Animals and Their Impact

The animals in the review include insects, fish, birds, reptiles and mammals. Here are a few examples of how animals shape the Earth.

• Livestock: Livestock (like cows and sheep) are key to this review. The impacts of cows grazing include; compacting soil; reducing infiltration; increasing runoff; increasing erosion and yielding sediment.

• Beavers: When beavers build dams, they influence drainage networks, which helps create entire wetlands that stay part of landscapes for hundreds of years. 

• Salmon: When salmon spawn, they swim upstream. This migration rearranges gravel and sediment, which changes riverbed topography and oxygen flow, while redistributing nutrients that can help other species. 

• Termites: They may be unwelcome in your home, but termites have a massive effect on the Earth. Termites built large dirt mounds in Brazil that have been there for 4000 years. They cover 230,000 square kilometers and can reportedly be seen from space.

• Ants: Small but mighty, ants are one of the most significant drivers of soil disturbance. When they dig to build their nests, they clear vegetation on the surface and carry up underground soil. They are social creatures, work together, and create organic matter and waste. The soil in their nests has new physical and chemical properties that affect nearby vegetation.

• Hippopotamus: The large hippopotamus plays a significant role in the savanna. They forage on land grass and eliminate it into the water. This process transports carbon and nutrients, affects downstream lake ecosystems, and contributes to new drainage systems. 

• Elephants: Another large animal, the elephant, also affects savannas and forests. As they move around, they naturally topple trees and break branches, which creates new paths and impacts other plants. 

• Bison: The large bison also disrupt the Earth with their natural movements. Examples include “rubbing, horning, and trampling” plants, which helps maintain and expand grasslands. They may also harm trees in this process.

New Reasons to Protect Animals

Animal protection is vital to the ecosystems of our planet. Losing any species can profoundly and irreparably harm our landscapes and consequently the health of our planet and everything on it.

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