Ecosystem Diversity

Today in class, we watched a video about tropical rainforests. It was quite intriguing; we learned about their importance. The rainforest is the Earth’s most diverse ecosystem and is home to over five million species (over half the world’s species). This really caught my attention, so I did some further digging. The rainforest is a rather stable environment; its climate remains warm and humid all year round. The rainforest is also located on or near the equator, so it receives the most rainfall out of all the other ecosystems on the planet. These two factors contribute to its surplus of biodiversity. Organisms don’t only live in the rainforest, they thrive. If you want to dig even deeper than I did, you can read the information here.  

Not only are rainforests rich in biodiversity, they’re also essential climate stabilizers. Due to their size and insanely large number of trees and tree species, rainforests take in lots and lots of carbon. While humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, trees do the opposite. The rainforests require carbon to survive and store a significant amount, thus helping to lower the levels of carbon in the atmosphere. This function is becoming increasingly more important as the Earth experiences climate change. Too much carbon in the atmosphere is causing the Earth to heat up and any help alleviating these high carbon levels helps to stabilize the atmosphere. With this being said, deforestation is a huge problem. If we keep cutting down the rainforests of the world, we’ll be releasing all of the carbon rainforests help to reduce back into the atmosphere. In order to ensure the health of our planet, we must preserve and protect the rainforest. 

Given the fact that the tropical rainforest is the most biologically diverse ecosystem on the planet, lots of research is conducted and data collected there. Regardless of where an ecosystem exists, they all have similarities in one way or another. Therefore, the data collected in a tropical rainforest in regards to biodiversity can hold true in other ecosystems as well, such as Yellowstone National Park. Conservationists, researchers, or park rangers can use data gathered in the rainforest to guide the work they do in their ecosystem. For example, in the video we watched, park rangers worked to repopulate wolves back into the Yellowstone ecosystem. They noticed a change after they were eradicated from the region and knew that, in order to preserve the health of Yellowstone, they needed to reintroduce wolves, the top predators, back into the ecosystem. If needed, the park rangers could’ve reviewed data from rainforest to back up their decision and further support their cause. Overall, I really enjoyed this video and it helped me open up my eyes to the world around me.

Image 1: 

http://www.onemeteratatime.org/wp-content/uploads/rainforest1.jpg

Image 2:

http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/images/where/whemap.gif

Image 3: http://cf067b.medialib.glogster.com/media/d6/d6ac6cc6f34531b93db1a14f48867d9049f5c4dd50d6141bde7b392cd86c33b3/rainforest-carbon-cycle-jpg.jpg

Image 4:

http://www.nathab.com/uploaded-files/carousels/TRIPS/Yellowstone-Wolf-Quest/US-National-Parks-Yellowstone-Wolf-Quest-1-wolves.jpg

Anatomy of Environmental Issues Final Project: Endangered Species

Hello, everyone!

The fall trimester has officially come to a close and I'd like to share with you my final project. Each person in our class spent a large portion of the trimester researching an environmental issue of their choosing that is currently affecting our planet. We were then given the task to share our research in the from of either a research paper or a Google Slides screencast. I decided to research endangered species and I created a screencast to help share what I learned and discovered with you all. I hope you enjoy!

Endangered Species Brief

Over the past few days, I have been conducting research towards my endangered species project. I have collected a plethora of resources and information from a wide variety of reputable sources such as the World Wildlife Fund, National Geographic, and several government agencies. Through my research into this environmental issue, I have uncovered the who, what, where, when, and why. Here is what I found.

The first question I needed to answer was who is creating this problem. The answer was us, the human beings who live on this planet. Our actions result into the endangerment and, occasionally, the extinction of various species. Things such as man-made global warming cause temperature changes killing off large portions of a population like polar bears in the arctic circle. Other activities such as deforestation and other types habitat destruction also have a profound affect on the other species that inhabit the Earth. Things such as overpopulation could result in the need for more housing which results in the destruction of more wild habitats which result in more endangered species as well. Poaching is also a large contributing factor.

The second question was what is causing this issue. The answer blends in with my response to who. Our actions are what is primarily causing this problem. Things such as pouching, over-hunting, habitat destruction, pollution, global warming, etcetera all have major effects on some species, thus causing them to become endangered. The numbers of certain species living in the wild is down to the hundreds for some. That means that scientists know exactly how many are left. They have a definitive number as to how many animals of an endangered species live in the wild. Rhinos are being poached in the African savannah for their horns while Polar Bears are losing crucial habitats due to ice melt in the arctic.

The third question was where is this issue taking place? One cannot pinpoint a certain location on the globe as to where this problem is occurring. Endangered species exist everywhere across the world. There are most certainly areas of high concentration where a vast number of various endangered species exist, but the short answer is that the reduction of species is happening everywhere.

The fourth question is when did this start happening. The answer is fairly recent. Endangered species started to be noticed and addressed around the 1960’s. This is when the World Wildlife Fund began. They started to collect data and coordinate responses to the crisis. Also during this time, the first laws were passed in the United States Congress to address the issue of endangered species.

The final question that needed answering was why does this happen. This answer is also difficult to pinpoint. Perhaps the reason is lack of care or greed by humans. We consume a large amount of resources and thing very little of the consequences. Some people are over-run with greed and will stop at nothing to make a profit. Either way, something detrimental to our planet is happening and it needs to be addressed. We need to stop things such as man-made global warming, deforestation, habitat destruction, etc. in order to make a truly meaningful difference.

Image 1 Source: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/428200758945652736/ekwCxl6Z_400x400.png
Image 2 Source: http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/sites/default/files/styles/media_full/public/00473-10104_0.jpg?itok=uv9Mr5rz