--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is part of a structure in which…" description: "\"There is part of a structure in which every species is related to every other species. And they're built up on species, like a pyramid. The simpler cel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d18/w-s-merwin-10641_biology_there-is-part-of-a-structure-in-which-ev_2550012.png" --- # There is part of a structure in which every species is… ![“There is part of a structure in which every species is related to every other species. And they're built up on species, like a pyramid. The simpler cell organisms, and then the more complicated ones, all the way up to the mammals and birds and so forth. We call it 'developing upward'... The whole…” quote by W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d18/w-s-merwin-10641_biology_there-is-part-of-a-structure-in-which-ev_2550012.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d18/w-s-merwin-10641_biology_there-is-part-of-a-structure-in-which-ev_2550012.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d18/w-s-merwin-10641_biology_there-is-part-of-a-structure-in-which-ev_2550012.png) > “There is part of a structure in which every species is related to every other species. And they're built up on species, like a pyramid. The simpler cell organisms, and then the more complicated ones, all the way up to the mammals and birds and so forth. We call it 'developing upward'... The whole thing depends on every part of it. And we're taking out the stones from the pyramid.” [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights ecological interdependence, likening ecosystems to a pyramid where removing any component destabilizes the whole. **In simple terms:** All species depend on each other; removing one harms the whole system. Key Takeaway Protect every part of the ecosystem. Themes ecology interdependence systems thinking Mood concerned reflective Type educational activist When to use this quote - conservation policy - education curricula - community restoration projects Key Concepts biodiversity pyramid model ecosystem stability Questions to Reflect On - What would happen if a key species disappears? - How can we prioritize protecting foundational species? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/built/) [Built Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/built-species-1512435/) [Cells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cells/) [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Developing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/developing/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Mammals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mammals/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Organisms Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms-complicated-1512436/) [Pyramids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pyramids/) [Related](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/related/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Species Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-built-1512434/) [Species Related](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-related-1512437/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Structure Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure-species-1512433/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [There are 400,000 species of beetles on this planet, but only 8,000 species of mammals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-s-haldane/there-are-400-000-species-of-beetles-on-this-planet-but-only-8-000/) [John B. 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He might, after all, be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-ryle/man-need-not-be-degraded-to-a-machine-by-being-denied-to-be-a-ghost/) [Gilbert Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-ryle/) > [Consciousness," according to current scientific thought, was something the higher mammals had evolved in order to help them reproduce, much the way a garden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/consciousness-according-to-current-scientific-thought-was-something/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals. So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-bloodhound-gang/you-and-me-baby-ain-t-nothin-but-mammals-so-let-s-do-it-like-they-do/) [The Bloodhound Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-bloodhound-gang/) ## More by W. S. Merwin > [When a poem is really finished, you can't change anything. You can't move words around. 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Merwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) ## More Biology quotes > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. 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