...A keystone species is a species that fulfills a very important role in its habitat. When a keystone species is eradicated from the habitat, that habitat undergoes extreme changes. The loss of a keystone species can cause other species to leave the environment and create a domino effect of outcomes. The loss of any organism in a habitat messes up the systems and relationships between other creatures and the balance of the habitat suffers. Many keystone species are predators who are essential to their habitat because they control the population of their prey. Without them, the prey would overpopulate and consume too many resources. When the resources are consumed, other species can no longer live. However, herbivores can be keystone species as well. One example of this is the African elephant, or Loxodonta africana. The African elephant is the world’s largest land mammal. They live in small family groups and have been known to grieve over dead family members. These creatures are in a state of vulnerability, they aren’t endangered yet, but they are close. This species is at high risk for becoming extinct in the wild. In African savannas such as the Serengeti plains region that covers parts of Kenya and Tanzania, elephants...
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...1. A forest surrounded by highways, with a species of squirrel. Fragmented watersheds, trout. Clear cutting of rain forest, tree frogs. 2. A cactus is a specialist species, its habitat is the desert. So, if the cactus received too much water or was brought to a higher elevation it would die. 3. This would be a large and strenuous study; however, each species would have to be monitored at all times in all habitats. All their actions and behaviors would need to be assessed to determine their role in the habitat. If a wide variety of habitats were available. Each one could be studied with species that are not present. Then compare the overall well-being of each habitat in order to determine which species hindered growth of their particular habitat....
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...Marine Ecology, May 9 -16, 2008 Lecture 8 & 9: Biological interactions in the intertidal I. Overview: Effects of biological interactions on zonation/distribution of intertidal organisms. A. Joe Connell (1972) proposed that physical factors (especially tolerance to desiccation) were most important in setting UPPER limits of species distributions, while biological interactions were more important in setting LOWER limits. 1. More recent studies show that upper limits can also be modified by biological factors, but still many cases where upper limits are related to physical factors. B. A variety of interspecific interactions and other biological processes have been studied to determine how they influence intertidal zonation, as well as distribution within a zone (for different microhabitats). This lecture focuses on those interactions and processes. II. Competition for space A. Example: Vertical distribution of the barnacles Chthamalus and Balanus/Semibalanus. Classic work of Joe Connell (1961) 1. Key observations a) Patterns of larval settlement: overlap in higher zones (see diagram) b) Patterns of adult distribution: Chthamalus higher than Semibalanus; no overlap at sites where both are found c) If Semibalanus is removed/excluded, the lower limit of Chthamalus is extended into the upper-mid-intertidal, but no further. •...
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...Analysis 1 7/21/2014 A keystone species is a species that has an unreasonably large effect on its environment relative to its large quantity. Man species play critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community. There are different examples of keystone species which there could be predators, mutualists, and engineers. Since the prey numbers are low, the keystone predator numbers can be even lower and still be effective. Keystone mutualists are organisms that participate in mutually beneficial interactions, the loss of which would have a profound impact upon the ecosystem as a whole. Although the terms 'keystone' and 'engineer' are used interchangeably, which is better understood as a subcategory of keystone species. Out of all the keystone species in the world the one that I am most fascinated with is the jaguar. The jaguar is largely a solitary and opportunistic predator at the top of the food chain. It is a keystone species, playing an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and regulating the populations of the animals it hunts. The jaguar has been numbered as the near threatened in Central and South America. The jaguar acts as a keystone predator because of its widely varied diet, and they also help balance the mammalian jungle ecosystem with its consumption of 87 different species of prey. Works Cited ...
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...After the recent veto of the Keystone XL Pipeline by President Obama, there have been heated debates with supporters and non-supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline. What is a way that the United States can receive more oil at a more efficient price? How can the United States provide many unemployed Americans with jobs? The Keystone XL Pipeline would provide all of these things in the United States, but what harmful influences would it have on our environment. In this paper, there will be information about both the helpful and harmful effects of the Keystone XL pipeline. This paper will include the ways that the Keystone pipeline will help the economy. The paper will also include ways that the Keystone Pipeline could possibly harm the people...
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...The Keystone XL Pipeline: It’s a Good Thing By: Samantha Prewitt The Keystone XL Pipeline: It’s a Good Thing The Keystone XL Pipeline Project is a proposed crude oil pipeline that begins in Hardisty, Alberta, Canada, crosses through an international border and ends in Steele City, Nebraska. From here it connects with existing pipelines, which will allow American oil producers more access to the large refining areas located in the Midwest and along the US Gulf Coast. It has been six years since TransCanada has applied for approval for this project and the project itself has gone through three revisions, including two reroutes of the pipeline itself. This article will attempt to dissect the benefits of the Keystone XL project and what it could mean to the American people if construction is approved. The implementation and construction of any project having to do with dangerous chemicals and oil is a frightening thought for any environmentally concerned person. These feeling are usually amplified when the construction site includes the Gulf Coast, being that the last spill is still wrecking havoc on our environment. But these feeling can all be set aside because according to Russ Girling, the president and CEO of TransCanada, “The environmental analysis of Keystone XL once again supports the science that this pipeline would have minimal impact on the environment” (Triplett, 2014). If and when President Obama grants the approval for construction, TransCanada is already...
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...Charlie Chaplin Biography/ Essay Charlie Chaplin was born on April 15, 1889, in London, England to Charles Chaplin, Sr., and Hannah Hill. He was taught to sing before he could talk and danced just as soon as he could walk. At a very young age Chaplin was told that he would be the most famous person in the world. From then on it was a personal goal for Charles. And he would do anything to reach his goal. When Charlie was five years old he sang for his mother on stage after she became ill and taken hoarse. Everyone in the audience loved him and hurled their money onto the stage. When Chaplin was eight, he appeared in a clog-dancing act called "Eight Lancashire Lads". Once again the audience loved him and he was excited with the attention he received. Charlie's half- brother Sidney, acted as his agent and when Charlie was ten years old, Sidney got Chaplin an engagement at the London Hippodrome. Within a few years Charlie was one of the most popular child actors in England. Charlie was twelve when his father died on May 9th, 1901. He died in St. Thomas Hospital in London of alcoholism. He was thirty-seven years old. After the death of her husband, Charlie's mother, became a chronically psychotic woman who was in and out of mental institutions. Charlie and Sidney, were placed in a charity home after their mother's mental health plummeted. Chaplin attended 2 years of school at Hern Boy's College. This was the only formal education that he ever received. Charlie was at school when...
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...Permitting the Keystone XL Pipeline To Be Built Anthony Draper EN 1420 The Keystone Xl pipeline which is a proposed pipeline line that would run from Alberta Canada down through the US to the Gulf Coast should be permitted to be built. It would have a huge positive benefit on the country as a whole. It will provide America with more permanent jobs, economic growth; reduce our dependency on overseas energy, reduce emissions from trucks on the road transporting oil as well as train cars carrying oil. In a country hurting for jobs and some kind of positive economic relief this project can help ease some pains. If our government can waste millions upon millions on failed energy efforts than it can support one that will actually provide jobs and money to this country instead of taking money and not being worth the effort as many of the green initiatives have proven to be. The main opponents to the pipeline being built are on the environmental side. Their main reasoning is that it will have huge negative impacts on the environment and the areas in which the pipeline will cross through. Now while there is always the possibility of this pipeline having negative impacts on the areas around it but the way those on the environmental side would have attacked it are unjust. They claim it will leave a big carbon footprint and cause too much pollution in the environment. President Obama even made it a point not to permit this from being built until the dangers can be assessed. The State...
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...Kent Ridge Park, opened in 1954 as a public park, is designed to adapt to the natural vegetation and topography of the site (“Kent Ridge Park Visitor Info, 2013). As such, it is largely undisturbed and is habitat to a large variety of flora and fauna. Such abundance allows for the study of the many different types of vegetation found in the walk, both native and exotic, and the inter-dependent interactions between the flora and fauna that are required for the continuity of the web of life. Besides being an important natural site in Singapore, what makes it even more unique is that it holds a significant position in Singapore’s natural heritage as the location where the battle for Pasir Panjang took place. (H.T.W. Tan et al.). The walk also enlightened me about how human actions affect the vegetation of a forest, as I realised the changes Kent Ridge forest had undergone due to man’s actions. Kent Ridge was originally a lowland evergreen rainforest, specifically a coastal hill dipterocarp forest. (H.T.W. Tan et al.). Such forests were the most common in areas with year-long moisture and well-drained soils, as found in Singapore. (R.J Morley). Such forests are dense, and lack ground plant growth. They also have a higher diversity of flora and fauna as compared to other forest types. Due to clearance of the forest by man for the cultivation of rubber, pepper and pineapple crops in the past, the forest had lost its original vegetation. Other kinds of vegetation then grew in the ground...
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...* Subclass: Euechinoidea * Order: Clypeasteroida * Family: Mellitidae * Genus: Mellita * Species: quinquiesperforata * Multicellular organism; radial symmetry * Organ systems: * Respiratory: Tube feet with specialized petalloids, or gills, to increase surface area for countercurrent gas exchange * Circulatory: Oxygenated water passes from the tube feet to the ampulla and then to the podial pores. * Digestive: Food is taken in at the lantern and then passed to the stomach via the esophagus. * Excretory: Waste passes through the intestine and directly expels from the anus. There is no kidney system. * Nervous: It is undeveloped and not centralized. There is no real brain. * Habitat Characteristic: Found in shallow waters and bay areas near inlets on sandy bottoms * Geographic Range: Found from Virginia to the coast of Brazil * Importance: Their larvae serve as for other organisms and the adults feed on other small organisms and algae. * Bell, Bruce M. and Robert W. Frey (1969) Observations on Ecology and the Feeding and Burrowing Mechanisms of Mellita quinquiesperforata (Leaske). J. Paleontology. 43: 553-560 * Domain: Eukaryota * Kingdom: Animalia * Phylum: Echinodermata * Class: Asteroidea * Order: Forcipulatida * Family: Asteriidae * Genus: Asterias * Species: forbesi * Multicellular organism; radial symmetry * Organ Systems: * Respiratory: The papule...
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...– All Risk No Reward Coalition | GOALGoal 1- To oppose the Keystone Pipeline Project and create awareness among the public about the negative impact that it can have on the environmentGoal2 – To persuade President Obama and Secretary Kerry to reject the proposal of the project | TACTICTactic 1 – Forming a unique blend of various state and national groups to strengthen the coalition Tactic 2- Creating awareness using paid media such as newspaper and television advertisementTactic3- Establishing a youth centered mobilization effort to boost the movement | Coalition 2 – Multistate coalition of general attorneys | Goal 1 – To highlight the benefits that the project will have on the nation’s economyGoal 2- To urge President Obama and Secretary Kerry to approve and pass the Keystone Pipeline Project | Tactic 1- Writing a petition to Secretary Kerry to issue a permit for the project by emphasizing its benefits such as increased employment and energy independence. | Coalition 3- Group of Oklahomans tribe members including Camp Horinek and Whitman | Goal 1 – To draw national attention to the negative impact the project would have on the environmentGoal 2- To preserve the sacred lands of the tribes that may be destroyed due to the commencement of the project. | Tactic 1 – Initiating a national rally starting from Canada and extending all the way to Oklahoma for climate justice and expressing opposition to the keystone pipeline project. | Coalition 4 – Tar Sands Blockade |...
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...“The longer you live the longer you should live” –Wiley “Evolution’s a bitch” –Wiley “Suckers are good to eat” –Wiley WHAT HAS EVOLUTION DONE FOR ME What has evolution done for me • Agricultural crops and animal breeding for the past 8,000 years • With the discovery of methods to reconstruct evolutionary relationships there is been a vast increase in the relevance of evolutionary biology to human society. Reconstructing Phylogenies • 1859-1950- No coherent empirical methods • 1950-1966- Emergence of Phylogenetic Systematics • Phylogeny by discovery of the order of evolutionary innovation Ribotyping • Fingerprinting or sequencing RNA • Many diseases have unknown causes • However, diseased tissues can be ribotyped. (Wiley Death Fish) • This process involves extracting DNA from diseased tissues and then sequencing the DNA that codes for rRNA. • If a disease agent such as a bacteria is present, then we will get ribosomal DNA sequences from the host (you) and the bacteria (the infection agent). Ribotyping: Phylogeny matching • Once we have the rDNA sequences, we can plug them into a sequence matrix of all life and see where our unknowns appear on the tree of life. Our Food Chain • Some products are easy to identify, but others are not. • A slab of fish fillet from a sea bass looks like a slab of sih fillet from a farmed Asian catfish. • But the sea bass costs $10/pound while the Asian catfish...
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...with preserving biodiversity Threatened species - Species that are at risk for extinction; various threat levels have been identified ranging from "least concern" to "extinct." Keystone species - A species that impacts its community more than its mere abundance would predict Single-species approach - A conservation strategy that focuses on protecting on particular species Flagship species - The focus of public awareness campaigns aimed at generating interest in conservation in general; usually an interesting or charismatic species, such as the giant panda or tiger. Ecosystem approach - A conservation strategy that focuses on protecting the ecosystem as a whole in effect to protect the species that live there. Ecosystem restoration - The repair of natural habitats back to (or close to) their original state. Remediation - Restoration that focuses on the cleanup of pollution in a natural area. Indicator species - The species that are particular vulnerable to ecosystem perturbations, and that, when we monitor them, can give us advanced warning of a problem. Landscape conservation - An ecosystem conservation strategy that specifically identifies a suit of species, chosen because they use all the vital areas within an ecosystem; meeting the needs of these species will keep the ecosystem fully functional, thus meeting the needs of all species that live there. Conservation genetics - Scientific field that relies on species' genetics to inform conservation efforts...
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...“When Keystone Extinction is More Ethical Than Conservation” Although the Endangered Species Act (ESA) at first glance seems to offer only benefits, it has been a topic of heated controversy since it was passed in 1973. The Act was created in response to the increasing awareness of animal endangerment and extinction, particularly those of the iconic American bison and passenger pigeon. When President Nixon signed the law he declared, “Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.” According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), endangerment is the second most serious status and indicates a “very high risk of extinction in the wild.”...
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...game for food, to the discovery of the vaccine, to the invention of incredibly fast transportation, to the fabrication of Wi-Fi, to the ability to connect to others around the world with a simple device called the iPhone. Without doubt, no other species has come to rival our intelligence and ability to progress and adapt to new environments. The value of a human life is so extraordinary because of the potential of the human intellect. Furthermore, it is because our extensive spectrum of emotions including the ability to empathize for others. This is the ultimate evidence of the greatness of man. Yet the question remains: is it wrong to choose a baby’s life over the life of an animal? Undeniably, animals are not equal to humans however, this doesn’t justify the horrors of animal cruelty that go on in today’s world. In evolutionary terms, we are biologically programmed to choose human life over a life of another species. If we didn’t follow this instinct we never would have been able to evolve. None of the above accomplishments would ever have happened. Likewise, animals that are intelligent don’t consider themselves equal to humans. They also don’t consider their own species above humans. All species value the life of the same species. Furthermore, according to Aristotle’s hierarchy of life only humans have a “rational soul” that gives us the ability to think logically and intellectually. It also allows us to think beyond ourselves in bigger terms of the environment. Any animal...
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