Systems Thinking Assignment

Example of counter-intuitive type 1

Cane toad in Australia:
Native to Central and South America, Cane toads were introduced to Australia from Hawaii in June 1935 by the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations in an attempt to control the native cane beetle. These beetles are native to Australia and they are detrimental to sugar cane crops, which are a major source of income for Australia. Adult cane beetles eat the crop's leaves, but the main problem is the larvae, who feed on the roots. Adult cane beetles have a heavy exoskeleton and their eggs and larva are often buried underground, making them difficult to exterminate. Unfortunately, the introduction of the toads has not only caused large environmental detriment, but there is also no evidence that they have had an impact on the cane beetles they were introduced to predate. The toads have steadily expanded their range through Queensland, reaching the border with New South Wales in 1978 and the Northern Territory in 1984. The toads on the western frontier of their advance have evolved larger legs; this is thought to be related to their ability to travel farther. As a consequence of their longer legs, larger bodies, and faster movement, about 10% of the leading edge cane toads have also developed arthritis. It is estimated that cane toads migrate at an average of 40 kilometres (25 mi) per year currently. The long-term effects of toads on the Australian environment are difficult to determine, however some effects include "the depletion of native species that die eating cane toads; the poisoning of pets and humans; depletion of native fauna preyed on by cane toads; and reduced prey populations for native insectivores, such as skinks." Precipitous declines in populations of the Northern Quoll (the North Australian Native Cat) have been observed after toads have invaded an area. There are a number of reports of declines in goanna (Australian monitor lizards) and snake populations after the arrival of toads. For example, local populations of Yellow-spotted Monitor dropped by up to 90% when their habitat was invaded by cane toads. The preliminary risk assessment of cane toads in Kakadu National Park stated that the predation of the cane toad by native wildlife is the greatest risk to biodiversity. Other factors, such as competition with native wildlife for resources, and the predation of the cane toad on native wildlife, were considered much lower risk factors but requiring further study. In the Northern Territory, goanna predation on cane toads has been linked to a rise in the amount of undamaged salt water crocodile eggs. Cane toads were present within a few days of the crocodiles hatching in April 2007. Currently, most attempts to curtail the invasion of cane toads have been unsuccessful. Many of these strategies involve the physical trapping of toads. Since the largest selective pressure on cane toads currently is intraspecies competition, these physical removals often only improve the conditions for untrapped toads. Also, since migration is high, any area purged of toads would most likely be reinvaded quickly. Also, trapping methods will also capture unintended native species. Many new ideas have been proposed to control the cane toad population. Some have suggested introducing a native viral or bacterial pest of the toads, but this has potential to once again invade native species. Here we see how these cane toads were introduced in Australia to remove the indigenous pest detrimental to their crop but instead, these frogs have become a new form of problem which still cannot be uprooted.

Example of counter-intuitive type 2

Banning of electronic media:
Whenever some electronic media like movie or website or video game is banned by the law, there is always a rise in curiosity as to why it is banned. Hence, people try to find alternative methods to see it. This results in the opposite. The media which was initially banned by the law becomes more popular as to why it was banned. A recent example is of a movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has been banned by the Indian Government as it contains adult scenes. But people ended up seeing it even more as it became more popular. So was Rambo, banned in Burma for negative portrayals of Burmese soldiers. Also, in many schools and universities, Facebook was banned at one time. But people found different ways to use it anyway. Not only movies and websites, video games are also banned due to various reasons like violence, wrong depiction of enmity of one country towards another, adult scenes. But still, these video games are widely played by not only the youth but the adults also. The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) ratings seem to have no meaning. Even if a parent refrains the kid from buying that game, he finds alternatives like playing at a friends house or caf. Another instance is of the blocking of various file-sharing sites in India by the DoTS (Department of Telecom Services). This led to a massive uprising among Indian users. People found out various other methods like using proxy servers, IP changer, etc. This even led to a well renowned group of hackers called Anonymous to directly threatening the Indian Government and hacking into many of their sites rendering them useless. In the end, the Indian Government surrendered, and unblocked these websites. So we see, throughout history, banning of any electronic media never turns out well. No matter where, people find alternatives. And that media becomes more popular than intended.

Rupam Sarkar MS12A070