...that the big threat to marine species is their natural predators, in reality a more silent and deadly killer threatens to wipe out thousands of marine animals: ocean pollution. Ocean pollution kills thousands of birds, fish, and sea mammals alike every year, by toxic particles released in the water and being strangled by plastic alike. How many species have been killed off by pollution, let alone ocean pollution, may never be known. To preserve all of the planet’s species, action must be taken. Ocean and beach pollution must be stopped to prevent the destruction of...
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...From figure 1, we can see that the flow of invasive alien species is between developed countries. A possible reason for this may be that developed countries tend to have more marine trade between other developed countries. This means that species around the world can be easily transported between countries, and thus leading to invasive species in many ecosystems. There are number of ways that species can be transported around the world, as these are marine species, one likely method they can be transportation through ships. Animals such as mussels are able to cling to the hulls of ships and thus they are easily transported to different areas within the world and away from their native habitat. Another possible way marine species can be transported around the world would be through ballast water from ships. Marine animals can also be introduced in to native ecosystems deliberately due to scientific reasons. A reason why invasive may be not shown in the figure between poorest countries might be due the fact that poorer countries have minimal marine trade links between countries thus restricting the movement of invasive species. There is significant damage that can occur from non-native species when they intrude ecosystems. This is because invasive alien species are well adapted to live in many habitats and therefore they can easily spread in to many ecosystems. As they are well adapted to live in habitats they are also able to reproduce in habitats that are not originally theirs...
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...aquarium look very pretty? Don’t let this plants pretty color fool you; it is an invasive species in the wrong habitat. An invasive species is essentially an invasion altogether. In terms of ecology an invasive species is when either a plant or animal is introduced to a different area from their natural habitat and cause environmental or economical harm. Giving this definition I will discuss Caulerpa Taxifolia. Caulerpa Taxifolia is a macro algae invader that is a multicellular plant native to warm saltwater. It is one of the most invasive green alga in the seas. It is considered invasive because it has the ability to spread over large areas in the ocean while forming dense mats, causing ecological and economic issues such destroying sea weed, sea grasses, fishes, commercial fishing, boating. Caulerpa is a salt-water plant with structures that look jut like roots, stems and leaves. The roots of Caulerpa are called rhizoids, which grow into the ocean floor to absorb water and nutrients. Caulerpa have leaf like structures that stick up called fronds, which are a bright green color and are photosynthetic. The stems of Caulerpa are called stolon, which grow above the ocean floor; the stolon when fragmented grows a new Caulerpa plant. Its normal habitat is in tropical waters around the world such as the Indian Ocean. Caulerpa taxifolia is not invasive in its native habitat and reproduces sexually. Grazing marine predators that co-evolved with the alga controls its rapid growth in its native...
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...Did you know that the continent of Australia has more than 378 mammal species, 828 bird species, 4,000 fish species, 300 lizard species, 140 snake species, 2 crocodile species, and around 50 marine mammal species? Since 1770 out of all of these species more than 2800 weeds, 25 mammals, 20 birds, 4 reptiles, 1 frog, 34 fish, between 100 and 400 marine species and an unknown number of invertebrates have been introduced becoming part of a dangerous group known as the invasive species. An invasive species is an non native specie that was brought to a piece of land from another country or area. For my invasive specie i am doing the dromedary camel also known as the Arabian camel, which are one of the many invasive species that Australia has....
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...into the Gulf of Mexico. These oil companies discovered they are far from being equipped for accidents such as this. Even though, this killed copious amounts of marine life. In addition, boats and other water vessels powered by fossil fuels kill more marine life each year with the chemicals they dump in the water. Why not stop using oil? Money would be the deciding factor. Organic pollution ingested by the bottom of the food chain is another issue, since it moves up the food chain. They are discovering high levels of these contaminants in the Bottlenose Dolphins. In addition, the dolphin’s first offspring are dying at disturbing rates. Mercury is producing similar...
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...Marine Main article: Marine ecosystem Marine ecosystems cover approximately 71% of the Earth's surface and contain approximately 97% of the planet's water. They generate 32% of the world's net primary production.[1] They are distinguished from freshwater ecosystems by the presence of dissolved compounds, especially salts, in the water. Approximately 85% of the dissolved materials in seawater are sodium and chlorine. Seawater has an average salinity of 35 parts per thousand (ppt) of water. Actual salinity varies among different marine ecosystems.[2] Marine ecosystems can be divided into the following zones: oceanic (the open part of the ocean where animals such as whales, sharks, and tuna live); profundal (bottom or deep water); benthic (bottom substrates); intertidal (the area between high and low tides); estuaries; salt marshes; coral reefs; and hydrothermal vents (where chemosynthetic sulfur bacteria form the food base).[1] Classes of organisms found in marine ecosystems include brown algae, dinoflagellates, corals, cephalopods, echinoderms, and sharks. Fishes caught in marine ecosystems are the biggest source of commercial foods obtained from wild populations.[1] Environmental problems concerning marine ecosystems include unsustainable exploitation of marine resources (for example overfishing of certain species), marine pollution, climate change, and building on coastal areas.[1] Freshwater Freshwater ecosystem. Main article: Freshwater ecosystem Freshwater ecosystems...
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...UK invasive species top facts * Invasive non-native species are thought to be one of the biggest threats to global biodiversity, second only to habitat loss. * There are almost 2,000 established non-native species in Great Britain. * Invasive non-native species cost Great Britain around £1.7 billion annually. * Invasive species have been introduced to the United Kingdom from every continent in the world apart from Antarctica. What is an invasive species? An invasive species is a species which has been introduced to an area outside its natural range and can cause a multitude of ecological, economic and public health problems within the new habitat as its population grows. Invasive species may belong to any taxonomic group, with mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, plants, invertebrates, fish and viruses all having invasive populations around the world. The extinctions of numerous species around the world can be attributed to the negative effects of invasive species. When a species is taken out of its natural range and placed into a new habitat it is removed from its natural predators and any pathogens which help to control its population. Without these, population growth may become out of control and the invader can rapidly colonise its new habitat. The characteristics which enable an invasive species to outcompete native species include fast growth, a short life cycle and the ability to tolerate a wide range of habitat types and environmental conditions. Successful...
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...a contributing factor to this impact. Propellers disturb the sea bed, increasing water turbidity and creating noise. Anchors also disturb the sea bed, creating furrows in the sand. Increasing water turbidity affects light dependent species such as coral and seagrass, the producers upon which the ecosystem relies. This changes the feeding behaviours...
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...environmental pollution has increased. Some species have changed their original habitat invading native species environment, resulting to competition for the limited resources. Human activities have played major role in introduction of the invasive species to an ecosystem, the alien species have unique adaptations that enable them to survive in new environment (Richardson, 2010). Bio diversification is under threat due to species invasion into ecosystem, the native plants have continued to be extinct and part of this phenomena has been attributed...
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...In the last five hundred and forty million years, the Earth has been the host to five mass extinctions (AccessScience Editors, 2014). Mass extinctions are defined as a global event during which at least fifty percent of all species die out in a geological period of time that is too short to allow adaptation (Mass Extinction, n.d.). It is important to note that species are always going extinct, just at a much slower rate than that of a mass extinction. This slow but constant extinction is known as background extinction, and is a normal part of the Earth’s cycle which has much less of an effect on biodiversity (Kohrs, 2018). Biodiversity is an invaluable resource to humans, which makes the recent changes in the Earth system alarming because many...
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... Introduction Globalization of the world economy has substantially increased the rate of biological invasions, as most harmful species arrive as hitchhikers on the vectors of international trade (2). To make it worst, the advances in world-wide shipping and transportation have accelerated the rate of biological invasions, through ocean-going vessel that regularly transit between continents, resulting in up to hundreds of thousands of gallons of plankton-laden ballast water introduced into new environment unintentionally each time (3). In another word, as international trade expands the rate of unintentional introduction of non-native species increases as well. Many of the deliberate introduced species often do not cause any problem as humans knowingly choose a suitable environment to fill an open ecological niche (3). However, on average, those unintentional introduced species often become pest by spreading widely or quickly, and cause harm to the environment, human health, other valued resources or the economy (2). As many of the accidental introduced species lack all or most their native, presumably coevolved, natural competitor or predator to control their growth proportion (3, 8). An example of the many accidental introduced pest species brought about by human activity in coastal zones worldwide which led to the disturbances of marine and estuarine ecosystem in Australia is Asterias amurensis, commonly known as Northern Pacific seastar, and it has been declared as...
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...opinion there is no doubt that marine animals should not be held in captivity. Marine mammals are a part of nature and should not be bought, sold or thrown in an aquarium. I believe that they have the right to be kept in their natural environment. There are many convincing reasons to support this opinion. Captivity causes many health problems in marine mammals. Many tanks have water full of chemicals and bacteria; these results in blindness and many skin problems in dolphins and other marine mammals. Marine mammals in captivity die from pneumonia, ulcers and other stress related diseases. Most of these helpless creatures suffer from boredom. Dolphins in the wild can swim from 40-100 miles per day but in pools they go around swimming in repetitive patterns. Due to boredom and limited space many dolphins abuse themselves; they often bang their heads against tank and aquarium walls. Some of these poor innocent creatures face abusive treatment by their caretakers, thus shortening their lifespan. In fact Keiko, the killer whale, the star of Free Willy, was a victim of this type of abuse. Marine mammals breed very poorly in captivity with very high infant death rates. For this reason, when a baby dolphin is born into captivity its birth is usually kept a secret from its mother until it shows signs of survival. Marine mammals do breed in captivity, but the birth rate in captivity is not as successful as in the wild. Many people think that marine mammals should remain in captivity...
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...and wetlands are an example of freshwater ecosystems. Naturally, these bodies of waters are important for reducing pollution, controlling floods and the homes for aquatic life (National Geographic, n.d.). Since human population is rising any number of current negative uses such as the overuse of fossil fuels has a negative impact on freshwater ecosystems. Acid rain is a result of high amounts of nitric and sulfuric acid released into the air. Emissions from cars and power plants contribute to the rise of the acids released in the air. Acid rain affects the pH balance of freshwaters and depending on the body of water it may not be able to neutralize the acid. Therefore the acid becomes toxic to many aquatic species eventually making the species extinct altogether (Effects of Acid Rain, 2012). Humans can be affected as well since many...
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...climates, which is measured by weather statics generally over a thirty-year time span, but changes in just one-decade can give researches an idea of how the ocean’s climate will look in the future. The world’s ocean surfaces have experienced a warmer climate in the last century and current hot spots, which are volcanic regions underneath the earths crust, have even raised two to three times the global average. These areas put off a large amount of heat from volcanic eruptions. Marine researchers have been able to examine the effects of greenhouse gases and global warming in the oceans with a wide array of fish species. All species have thermal tolerance ranges in which they can live; as a result, a vast number of fish species are predicted to become extinct when suitable habits become nonexistent. Increasing oceanic climates is shown to have an effect on the migration movements towards the poles, depth levels, and range expansion or contractions in which fish species can tolerate. Though marine species are constantly moving between habitats, the changes in climates are increasing the magnitude and speed of these distributions (pole ward and depth migrations) in all latitude zones of the world’s oceans. In relation to oceans covering majority of the world’s surface area, it also absorb a far greater majority of the heat from the sun’s rays than the atmosphere. Humans greatly influence these climate changes by land-use emissions, agriculture, industrial, and fossil fuels 1...
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...rate than atoll subsidence, and the atoll will sink below the surface. The good news is that the coral growth at Kure is faster currently than the subsidence. However, further north are the Emperor seamounts, showing a grim future for Kure atoll, where the water is too deep and cold for coral growth. The atoll is extremely important, because its home for dozens of nesting birds, sea turtles and the endemic Hawaiian monk seal. Along with the many endemic species inhabit the atoll, human...
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