Week 4/5: Conservation of Ecological communities

This week's lesson was quite enjoyable, not to be sarcastic however, but we covered topics to do with habitat loss and degradation, endangered species, invasive or introduced species, pollution, and how humans have impacted the biodiversity. We have impacted biodiversity in a whole range of ways, some of which I was already aware of, but the extent and the cost of how the Endangered Species Act (ESA) list species was surprisingly slow. I never knew it took that long a process....however, humans are already learning and trying to understand from past mistakes-though we may still tamper with the biodiversity through technological advances. We still have numerous things to understand about the ecosystem.
Here is two of this week's questions: It will be backward, as this post is after questions 3 and 4.

Week 4/5:

1) How do you impact biodiversity? In what ways have you directly (or indirectly) led to habitat loss, overkill, or the introduction of non-native species or disease? What could you do to lessen your impact on biodiversity?

In many ways, I indirectly impact biodiversity. I drive a car, which burns fuel putting yet more carbon into the atmosphere; consume goods, morst of which are paper, which uses numerous number of trees; use electricity at home, use water-and ironically, I am one of the human populations, and I have dog and cats at home, who are introduced species. There are also gardening, whcih could also impact biodiversity-through the use of chemicals and introduction of new plant species and traveling from one country to another-which burns more fuel, placing carbon emissions into the atmosphere. I have placed these as indirectly impacting biodiversity, since I don't always think about what I do- most of these are necessities and taken for granted; not that I don't care that is to say, but yes I would still drive my car to BCC, and I still like my dog and cats-however, the amount of waste I consume could be reduced. In order for one to lessen the impact on biodiversity, it takes dedication; meaning:

• being aware of what I do and thinking about how it impacts biodiversity>
• buying more sustainable goods,
• consuming less, the only exception being food (though, I would try not to throw any away),
• learning still more about the environmenta and the human impact,
• being aware of my surrounding ecosystem and what it has to offer: through bird watching, conservation projects, hiking (or walking)
• Participate in conservation and community projects to do with the environment.

In another sense, I am a student, and a so called lazy one- I could say "I don't have the time," I'll still drive my car...Lessening impact on biodiversity takes leadership and a community. If one person said, "we need to stop using pesticides because...etc," and they take action, then others may follow them. I am sure there are many other ways I impact biodiversity that I am not aware of.

2) How do you feel about species extinction-is it a natural thing that we shouldn't worry about or should we try to reduce human impacts on biodiversity?

Species extinction is a cause for concern if it was caused by humans. In the past, species have gone extinct by natural disasters. However, much of species extinction could have been caused by human impacts through E.O. Wilson's example: habitat degradation, introuduced species, pollution, human population, and overharvesting (HIPPO)-global warming has been another factor causing species extinction. If a species goes extinct or endangered then the extinction or endangerment could impact other species and the ecosystems.

-For example, many species have certain relationships with one another-if we were to take the example of the clown fish and the sea anenome; and we were to demolish sea anenomes then the Clown fish population might be impacted becuase they would lose their protection from other predators.

-Another example that could cause species to be threatened would be the imbalance of food chain/web. The most recent example from previous in-class exercise would be the population of Kokanee salmon went down, due to the introduction of a species (Opossum shrimp), which ate the Kokanee's food resources. Hence the population of the Shrimp increased, while the number of Kokanee salmon decreased because their food resources decreased. Hence other consumers, depending on the Kokanee as food resources, slowly decreased in poplulation. Therefore, we could say- if a certain resource was depleted or decreased, then the number of consumers would decrease in poplution.

Certain species are dependent on certain ecosystems because there are food resources...and the species can keep its' biological community in check.

-An example, which was told in class, was about Sea Otters, who are keysone species because they eat the sea urchins, which can cover the ocean floor not allowing the kelp to grow. (if I'm correct). The kelp provides protection for other species. Sea otters have been hunted, hence the number of sea urchins decreased.

In all, I am trying to say, if we exterminate a species, then other species and biological community would also be impacted both directly and indirectly. If we were to lessen our impact, this would also take a community-there would have to be response such as controlling exotic species/ivory/medicines/fur trades, regulating hunting and fishing, a quicker (if possible) response from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and habitat protection. These could be ideal solutions, but we could also allow for education and empowering younger generations to be aware of what the world has to offer by way of biological community-birdwatching, nature programs (which I didn't use to like), hiking...etc. There are all sorts of possibilities. I don't like what we have done to species, and though cute and cuddly certain species are (think Snow Leopards, for example) I do worry about how what human impact might do to species, and whether in the future, they will still exist. The world is a fascinating place, which provides for humans but we must be careful with what we take from it. (Adapted from a quote)