...Invasive Species In the 5th grade my school had announced a field trip to the everglades. I was so excited to finally get to see one of america's natural wilife. I was also excited to see many animals, especially the most known animal in the park, the american crocodile, i remember seeing charts of the many times of animals and species that lived there. Listening to the way these animals live and their ecosystem was something i could never imagine to be gone. The everglades have been around 5,000 years and is known to be “ the largest subtropical wilderness in the united states” (National Park Service). It has provided a habitat for many rare and endangered animals like the mantee, american crocodile and florida panther. But a lot has changed...
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...Invasive Species are becoming an increasingly populous threat in the United States of America, and the United States government is not applying enough regulations and policies to control the import and spread of these species. To successfully stop the spread of these species and reduce the amount of new invasive species the government must act. The key to stopping the spread of these invasive is rapid response to the issue. The government must apply new policies, because without the government acting against these invasive species or regulating the flow of species the problem will just continue to increase (Beric, 2015). The problem with invasive species are they are just what their names imply, invasive. The threat level to the United States...
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...Invasive species and their effects on certain ecosystems are becoming increasingly problematic. In certain ecosystems such as a Brazilian island, these types of species have greatly influenced and reduced species richness (Mello 2016). The reason these organisms are so successful in implementing themselves into an environment is due to a major concept in ecology, competition. Some invasive species use a variety of methods to ensure they get the resources necessary for survival and rapid reproduction/expansion, while decreasing the overall fitness of another individual (Lang 2013). An invasive species has the potential to change the structure of an ecosystem and it is of importance to know how and why this is occurring to better protect our ecosystems. In this experiment we looked at how an invasive species affects other neighboring species. As the invasive species moves closer to the native species,...
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...A nonnative species is a plant or animal from a foreign region of the world that has established a population in a new area. These alien species may be introduced into an ecosystem through various means. For example, foreign species are most often released into the wild by individuals that have kept them as domestic pets. In addition, they may be transported through ship ballast water or other forms of accidental release. Whereas many species may not be able to survive in foreign conditions, others are able to adapt to new environments (National Ocean Service. Although, nonnative species can be harmless to new environments, harmoniously integrating themselves into the ecosystem, exotic species often cause severe environmental harm becoming “invasive”. An invasive species is an organism that has unbalanced the dynamic of their new habitat. Invasive organisms often exhibit advantageous traits that allow them to over take native populations by depleting food sources and creating unfair competition for mating grounds, habitats, nests, etc (National Ocean Service)....
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...Abstract The diversification of human induced disturbances upon natural ecosystems has contributed to wildlife habitat fragmentation which has been a serious threat to the survival of natural populations. Possible factors contributing to this decline include changes in food, loss of genetic variation, cover availability, evolution of predation, microclimatic effect, and lack of recolonization following extinctions. Habitat loss and fragmentation are processes that separate small populations, which have higher extinction rates that may lead to a reduction in biological diversity. Recent dramatic declines in forest management have brought some undesirable consequences for forest health and wildlife (Jack Ward, T. (n.d). Standing back and letting nature take its course has become increasingly prevalent. Unfortunately, while appealing as this sounds, this is not tenable in the long-term as it will not protect forests, retain biodiversity, and provide some wood products over time. We are increasingly depending on places beyond our borders to provide our wood places with far less resources and knowledge about how to manage forests responsibly. By importing wood products, we export not only environmental consequences but jobs and dollars ( Jack Ward, T. (n.d). Conservation biology needs to reach out to a much broader community of academics and practitioners in fields as diverse as anthropology, history, political geography, and environmental psychology (Bernstein...
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...Ecosystem Structure, Function, and Change Paper (Great Lakes) Shantera Bell October 26, 2015 SCI/256 UOP The Great Lakes region is rich with life and full of native species well adapted to survival. However, since the early 1800s, many non-native plants, animals and microscopic organisms have been introduced into the Great Lakes, either accidentally or intentionally. Great Lakes native species are diverse and interesting and contribute to a healthy ecosystem. There are many unique and interesting birds, fish and plants found in Michigan and throughout the region that are integral to the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem. More than 140 species of birds depend on Michigan’s coastal habitat during their life cycle. Coastal wetlands, beaches, sand dunes and remote islands provide food and shelter for both resident and migratory species. Waterfowl such as Canvasback and Scaup are among the many species that use coastal wetlands as stopover sites to rest and refuel. Shorebirds including the endangered piping plover fly thousands of miles to nest on undisturbed beaches and remote Great Lakes islands. Because of their use of the coastal lands, there are thousands of great locations to see both resident and migratory bird species throughout Michigan and the Great Lakes region. State parks, national parks, wildlife refuges and sanctuaries throughout the state all provide good bird-watching opportunities. Some sites along Michigan’s Great Lakes shoreline are even...
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...be beneficial, while others still need improvement. This paper addresses and evaluates five different locations around the lagoon, the various restoration projects at the sites, and what more could be done at each habitat in order to assess the ecological restoration efforts in the UCSB Campus Lagoon area. The sites addressed are the San Nicolas degraded wetlands, Campus Point, the coastal sage scrub, Manzanita Village and the bioswales. Overall, each of the sites have finished going through extensive restoration, with techniques such as solarization and re-introduction of native species. Most of the ecosystems are now returned to their pre-disturbed state, but continued efforts are needed to preserve the locations. 1.0 Introduction: The term “ecological restoration” is generally defined as “the return of an ecosystem to a close approximation of its condition prior to disturbance” (NRC Report, 1992). Although this term is often oversimplified, it includes a complex web of cultural, social and political aspects as well as environmental aspects. Due to its complexity, and in many cases, the many competing jurisdictions involved, it is often hard to make and complete ecological restoration goals. Ecological restoration projects have different goals and objectives depending on the limitations of the projects and the targeted ecosystem. Many restoration projects aim to establish ecosystems by re-introducing native species, while others aim to create or recreate ecosystem services...
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...SAMPLE --- STUDENT WRITING Research Paper When Pets Become Predators What is an owner to do with a pet that has become too aggressive to handle, too expensive to feed or too large to house? This is a question many uneducated exotic pet owner’s face soon after purchasing a juvenile exotic reptile. Unfortunately, for many pet owner’s, the answer is to release the pet into our neighborhoods and parks creating a multitude of problems for homeowner’s, State officials and the environment. Probably the best known pet to become a predator is the Burmese python, also known as the Indian python. Burmese pythons average approximately 13 feet in length, but can grow to over 20 feet. (Indian Python) Their weight may exceed 200 pounds. Most owners begin feeding their juvenile pythons mice, but a snake grows quickly and graduates to rabbits, chickens and eventually pigs. A full grown python requires a cage of at least 8 feet in length. Because a Burmese python has a life expectancy of over 20 years, the potential buyer must carefully evaluate the long term commitment required with this purchase. Another well know pet to predator is the Nile monitor lizard. These lizards average 4 to 6 feet in length, but can soon grow to 7 feet. They are a carnivorous lizard that as a juvenile begins eating crickets, then graduates to gold fish and later to rats and other small animals. When full grown, monitor lizards like the Burmese python, need an enclosure of at least 8 feet, however...
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...Asterias amurensis: A mariculture pest in Australia. 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...
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...1 ESSAYS ON SUSTAINABILITY Thirteen Challenging Essays for Earthlings By Peter E. Black, 2008 Wheels and Water .......................................................page 1 Water and Humans on Planet Earth ................................... 2 Climate, Weather, and Global Warming ............................. 3 A Catastrophic Loss of Species ......................................... 4 The Naked Truth................................................................... 5 Asymmetrical Resource Distribution ................................. 6 Stormwater and Groundwater Runoff ................................ 7 Economy, Energy, Environment ......................................... 8 Drill in the ANWR? No Way! ............................................... 9 The Wonder of Water ......................................................... 10 Buffering Sands of Time.................................................... 11 Ecology and Civilization .................................................... 12 With a Bang, not a Whimper.............................................. 13 © 2008 Peter E. Black, PhD (US Copyright Registration TXu 1-580-484, July 13, 2008 as “Conservation is the Cornerstone of Sustainability”) Distinguished Teaching Professor of Water and Related Land Resources, Emeritus, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210 peblack@esf.edu and www.watershedhydrology.com Essays on Sustainability Thirteen Challenging...
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...1) a) Resource used I. Exotic plant management teams II. Integrated pests management b) Number of results * Over 6,500 non-native invasive species have been documented on park lands * More than 650 invasive species have been found in marine parks c) Number of full text results Invasive species include all taxa of organisms, ranging from microscopic insects to 100 lb sheep. d) 70% of documented invasive species on park lands are invasive plant species around 5% of park lands are dominated by invasive plants. 2) Texas Today: A Sea of the Wrong Grasses “I In the ’60s when I bought this place and moved Here from Houston, we had so many quail that You didn’t even need a bird dog to find them,” Mused my 85-year-old hill country neighbour. “Then,” he Paused, his satirical glance drifting toward the mantle to A dust-covered 20-gauge double-barrelled shotgun and a Faded John Cowan Print of a quail hunt on a shin oak Mountaintop of the Texas hill country, “by the early ’80s, The quail were gone.” “Well,” I interjected in a smug biologist’s refrain, “what Changed?” “Hell, I don’t know, but just before that time everybody Planted all the maize fields to coastal (Bermuda grass), and That damn KR bluestem came in from the highway when They redid it.” “I’ll bet that’s part of it,” added the old man. What ran through agronomist Nick Diaz’s mind on a Hot, dry Gulf Coast summer day in 1939, when he first laid Eyes on the...
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...Boysiewick ITT Technical Institute EN1420 – Composition II Professor Uddin August 21st, 2014 Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………3 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..4 What Are Genetically Modified Foods?.….....................................................................................4 Significant Differences Between Conventional and GM Foods...............................................…...5 Long-Term Studies………………………………………………………………………………..5 Creating a New Species…………...………………………………………………………………7 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..………….9 References……………………………….……………………………………………………….10 Abstract This paper examines the need for labeling of genetically-modified foods, of GM foods, by researching significant nutritional differences found in conventional and GM foods, long-term studies on the impact on human health, and compounding effects on the environment caused by creating a non-naturally occurring species. In finding no significant nutritional advantages, a lack of evidence to disprove studies on adverse effects on human health, and potentially detrimental effects on the environment, it is believed that the consumer has a right to be informed of the origin or alterations of food made available to them. We Are What We Eat: A Cause to Label Genetically-Modified Foods One of the most dangerous and least understood experiments with human health the world has ever known is currently underway without consent, in...
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................................................................................................... 2 1.1 BACKGROUND OF INFORMATION ............................................................................................. 2 1.2 Statement of the Research Problem .................................................................................................... 4 1.3 OBJECTIVE ....................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3.0 General objective ............................................................................................................................. 6 1.3.1 Specific objectives ....................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS................................................................................................................. 6 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 General overview of diseases .............................................................................................................. 7 3.0 RESEARCH...
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...Cottonwood and Saltcedar Cottonwood (Populus spp.) is native to several temperate and boreal regions of North America where decrease in floodwaters exposes minerals in the soil surfaces. Cottonwoods are ecologically important to arid regions of western and southwestern North America because of the absence of other native tree species as their replacements (Rood and Mahoney, 1990; Cooper et al. 1999). Cottonwoods are prone to high invasion in riparian ecosystems as a result of large amount of hydrological disturbance in such areas (Tabacchi 1995). Cottonwood trees can be either male or female both of which contain flowers clustered in catkins (Braatne et al. 1996). Seeds produced by both flowers are reported to be greater than twenty five millions per tree annually (Schreiner 1974). Since the seed viability is very less lasting for 1-2 weeks under natural conditions and 2-3 days under wet conditions germination of seeds must occur in short period of time. Cottonwoods can also reproduce asexually through crown breakage and tree fall during wind storms and flooding events. The broken branches after being buried in sediment sprout and develop strong shoots. Species, climatic condition and drainage basin of the area determines whether the seedlings are established more from sexual reproduction or asexual propagules may outdo seedlings in growth and competition (Braatne et al. 1996). Cottonwood seedlings are poor competitors and their establishment depends on temporal and spatial variation...
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...commercially in most supermarkets. Most people associate syrup with the maple tree, and although much of today’s syrup does originate from the sugar maple, all species of maple can be tapped. Even better, many other trees from other genera can be tapped to extract sap, which ultimately can be turned into delicious syrup. In this post, I won’t be discussing the methods involved in tapping for sugar production. If you are unfamiliar with the process, there are a variety of great websites, videos, and...
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