...correlations have been scientifically determined, why has the United States Navy failed to adjust its practices in favor of saving marine organisms? How much evidence will suffice for the United States government to take necessary strides towards keeping our oceans safe? It is with this in mind that I claim that the U.S. Navy’s use of active sonar, whether it be mid or low frequency, needs to be more highly regulated. Therefore, government officials need to use their political power to support the marine species being affected by these anthropogenic noises. My first sub claim supporting my driving thesis will pertain to the negative impact sonar activity has on marine organisms. I will begin with the introduction of the importance of sound to the ocean’s mammals, the most prominent subjects of mid and low frequency sonar. This is an imperative aspect of this issue because the survival of every single one of these marine animals is based concretely in their specialized abilities to hear through the oceanic medium. With this I will present the scientifically supported fact that hearing in marine animals became established for an evolutionary purpose: to enhance the abilities of “predator abundance and/ or prey detection” (Ladich 5). Therefore, the introduction of anthropogenic noise by the Navy is highly likely, if not guaranteed, to affect the survival abilities of marine animals. Additionally, sound is known to be essential in mating processes,...
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...Footprint Trap: A Measure of Abundance, Species Richness, and ANOVA Between Mammal Species in Townhouses and Woodland Areas at Saint Michael’s College Dana DiPinto Community Ecology 10-30-12 Lab Abstract In this experiment we hypothesized that the woodland area would have a higher abundance and species richness than the townhouses at Saint Michael’s College due to effects of human interaction. Our testing sites were the woodland area across the street from Saint Michael’s College and the townhouses on the campus. Baited footprint tracking stations were used to record mammal footprints and were collected and replaced daily for two weeks. When the observation period ended all footprints were identified and analyzed. The mammal diversity was measure through abundance, species richness, and a one-way ANOVA test for analysis of variance. After analyzing all data we concluded that there was in fact a higher abundance and species diversity at the woodland site. Also our p-value showed a significant difference in variance at both sites. Our hypothesis that the woodland site would have a higher abundance and species richness was supported by this experiment and the main factor was human interaction...
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...is approximately 18 feet, weigh up to 150 pounds and a female can produce anywhere from eight to 107 eggs. The diet of pythons range from mammals, fish, amphibians, birds, and even other reptiles. Although they are not venomous they are powerful biters and constrictors. It has yet to be determined the mean at which these reptiles were introduced to South Florida through either intentional release via the release of unwanted pets or the accidental release: the escape of pets or even the media speculated event of Hurricane Andrew 1992 causing the release of snakes out of a snake sanctuary (has yet to be...
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...are never the same. In today’s society divorce can happen for many reasons, but how can we fix it? In some cases divorce is necessary, for example if the relationship between the couple is unhealthy and one or neither person can stay committed, then divorce would be the appropriate action, but when neither person can stay committed to the other then those people should not have gotten married in the first place. According to a blog writer that goes by the name land mammal from writing.com says, “If there is a physically or emotionally abusive spouse belonging to the marriage it may be pertinent to resolve such an issue through means of divorce for example. However, the conditions which are used to justify divorce in a marriage are becoming increasingly numerous and less severe.” In today’s society people try to find so many different reasons to divorce, yet if these couples would just sit down and try to find a way to fix their marriage or go to counseling, we might have a lower divorce rate today. Land mammal claims, “Reasons for...
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...contrast of similarities, differences, and tones. In both essays’ Leopold and Delaney discuss how easily humans take over land that belonged to animals long before we took over the land. Delaney talks about how the coyotes invade the yards in his neighborhood; however, there are people that leave food out for the coyotes, but call in complaints when the coyotes attack their yards, pets, or children. About 100 coyotes per year are trapped and euthanizes by Animal Control Department (212 Boyle). These animals are killed or tortured for doing what they need to do to survive, while being encouraged to come back to what is considered human territory. Leopold displays a similar situation in his essay where humans show kindness and encourage mammals or different types of plants into their environment only to kill...
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...Animals PYLUM CHORDATA - animal kingdom Division of Phylun 1. Fishes 2. Amphibians 3. Reptiles 4. Birds 5. Mammals Ectothermic Vertebrates * Coldblooded animals * Body temperature changes depends on the environment Endothermic Vertebrates * Warm blooded animals * Body temperature is stable in extreme hot or cold Fishes Have GILL to breathe in water Two kinds of fish: bony and cartlilaginous. 1. Bony Fish - largest group of Fish - ex. Milkfish, catfish, electric eel 2. Cartilaginous – flexible skeleton - ex. Sharks, rays and skates Amphibians Two groups : tailed and tailess 1. Tailed – ex. Salamanders and newts 2. tailess – ex. Frogs and toads Toads – during winter – hibernation * During summer - estivation Reptiles Ex. Crocodiles, alligators (largest reptiles), turtles, tortoises, lizards and snakes Turtles – upper shell – carapace * Lower shell – plastron Birds - feathers (modified scales) / bills and feet (shows adaptation) Common characteristics: 1. body (head, neck, trunk, and tail) 2. forelimbs (wings) / hind limbs ( legs) Mammals - 1. Monotremes – egg laying animals 2. Marsupials – pouched animals 3. placentals – with in uterus ( largest and most successful groups) * Insect – eating * Flying * Rodents * Aquatic * Hooped * Meat eating * Primates – (ex. Humans and monkeys) INVERTEBRATES – 1. SPONGES – PHYLUM PORIFERA ex. Sponges i...
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...Biodiversity Hotspot in Indo Burma Student’s Name Name of Institution Abstract Extinction has been happening over the years without concerns; however there are people who have emerged to create awareness on the importance of conserving the environment for their continuity. For this course some biodiversity hotspots have been identified which host a variety of endemic species which need to be protected. This paper seek to explore how climate change has affected the species, other threats that exist that endanger these species and what is being done to mitigate these threat. Biodiversity Hotspot in Indo Burma Map 1: Indo-Burma a Biodiversity hotspot (Myer, 2000) The biodiversity hotspots concept was brought about by a man called Norman Meyer. There are 25 identified hotspots all over the world and other potential ones are 9 in number. These areas share a similarity of having many endemic species and together they support 60% of world’s mammals, plants, birds, amphibians, and reptiles’ species. One of these hotspots includes the Indo-Burma. Termed as one of world’s biodiversity hotspots the Indo Burma spreads across the eastern parts of Bangladesh extending to the Indias North eastern regions, the southern parts of Bramaputra River, almost the whole of Myanmar and China’s southern and eastern parts of Yunnan Province also including Thailand and minute parts of Penisular Malaysia. Not forgetting the south China’s coastal lowlands, the off shore...
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...learned was nearly 200 different species of sea life including; whales, dolphins, seals and turtle die due to plastic bags, they die after ingesting plastic bag which they mistake for food, second bag find their way into the sea via drains and sewage pipes, third the effect on wildlife can be catastrophic, birds become terminally entangled (To complication). My recommendation concerning plastic bags to public. As I address the public-at-large my recommendation regarding this matter will be, the next time a clerk at my (our) grocery store ask whether I (we) prefer paper or plastic for my truly eco-friendly response and saying “neither”. I believe plastic bags end up as liter that fouls the landscape, and kill thousands of marine mammals every year that mistake floating bags for food. I think plastic bags that get buried in landfills may take up to years to break down, and in the process they separate into smaller and smaller toxic particles that contaminate soil and water, I (we) throw away billion of plastic bags every year, and fewer are even recycle. I believe some business have stopped offering their customer’s plastic bags, and some communities are either...
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...Assess the relative importance of human and physical factors influencing levels of biodiversity (15 Marks) There are a range of human factors which affect the levels of biodiversity in an area in positive and negative ways. The way in which people use resources can have a damaging effect on the levels of biodiversity as trees are cut down for wood or paper; in some places this is leading to high levels of deforestation. Particularly in areas such as the tropical rainforest, this can lead to the destruction of habitats and so put many endemic species at risk. Also, in many areas there are poachers who put many species at risk of extinction as they can gain wealth by hunting them. In more built up areas, there is likely to be much lower biodiversity as concrete is built over where plants may have previously grown and areas with the highest biodiversity are relatively undisturbed. Due to an increasing population, many more areas are becoming built up by the process of urbanisation. This gives local species less opportunity to continue or to develop and so lowering the level of biodiversity of the area. In a less direct way, biodiversity can be affected by humans as pollution is created, affecting air quality and contaminating water sources. Pollution can make an area more hostile to other species living in the area which can affect the population of them in a negative way. Particularly in cases of contaminated water sources, the pollution can be toxic to plant or animal species...
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...plants.Pleistocene conifers, mosses, flowering plants, insects, mollusks, birds, mammals (sloths, bison, sabre-toothed cats, mammoths, early human hunters). Diatoms, foraminifera, and plant pollen. | 1.8 MYA to today. | Yet the Holocene has witnessed all of humanity's recorded history and the rise and fall of all its civilizations. It was during the Pleistocene that the most recent episodes of global cooling, or ice ages, took place. Temperate zones were alternately covered by glaciers during cool periods. The Pleistocene also saw the evolution and expansion of our own species, Homo sapiens. | | Tertiary | Grazing mammals, such as members of the perissodactyl and artiodactyls diversified in the Miocene and Pliocene.Long legged grazers.Chalicotherium , perissodactyls. artiodactylsHyaenodon horridus, elephants, horses, various grassesUngulates such as Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla, Vivveravus | 65 to 1.8 MYA. | The cooling and drying of the global environment may have contributed to the enormous spread of grasslands in this time. The change in vegetation undoubtedly was a major factor in the rise of long-legged grazers who came to live in these areas. The Panamanian land-bridge between North and South America appeared during the Pliocene, allowing migrations of plants and animals. | MESOZOIC | Cretaceous | Some ceratopsian and pachycepalosaurid dinosaurs, non-avian dinosaurs, insects, mammals, ammonites, first flowering plants | 144 to 65 mya | "Age of Dinosaurs". The breakup...
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...Wings of birds and bats: the only two vertebrates known to fly; however, they share no close ancestor. This is known as convergent evolution in which unrelated species, such as the bird and bat, have developed similar structures in flight but their skeletal structures are very different (McGhee, 2002). The two biological and obvious differences are the bat’s wings, which are made up of a leathery skin membrane with hair and fur, while bird wings have feathers. The wingspans also differ in each species. In the Unites States, bat wingspans can be 12-16 inches in length (Neuweiler, 2000) while the wingspan of birds can range in length depending on the type of bird. For instance, condors can have a wingspan of 9 feet while the average wingspan of a hummingbird can be just 4 inches long. Bats belong to the taxonomic order, Chiroptera (Greek for hand and wing), (Neuweiler 4) and avian (winged) family. Bat wings are shaped differently as they are used for cutting through the air quickly and can dive in flight like that of birds. Bat wings have a webbed membrane, known as patagium, which is stretched between modified forelimbs to the extended digits, or chiropatagium, which is then attached to the side or the back of the bat and the lower leg (Avila-Flores & Medellin, 2004). This membrane is an extension of the skin of the body and has umbrella-like features. The formation of the patagium allows a greater surface area which is necessary for flight. The most elongated parts...
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...Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents… 1-2 Introduction… 3-4 Part I: Evolutionary History… 5 * Pakicetus… 5-7 * Ambulocetuss… 7-8 * Rodhocetus… 8-9 * Basilosaurus and Dorundontidae… 9-10 * Kentriodontidae… 10-11 Part II: Evolutionary Biology, Ecology, and Behavior… 11 * What is a Dolphin?... 11 * General Anatomy… 11-12 * Integumentary, Sensory and Urinary systems… 12-18 * Musculoskeletal system and Locomotion…...
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...Tall Tales The Bible, as with most religious texts, uses metaphors, verbal illustrations, and allegory throughout. Regardless of historical fact or accuracy, the use of these conventions gives most biblical stories their meaning and importance. While most of the Bible makes some sense to the modern reader, there are those stories that defy the basic laws of science and fact. One such story in the Bible is a rather famous one and quite possibly the most confusing and scientifically baseless. In fact, the story is so improbable that it has been relegated to the status of a children’s story by all accounts. The tale comes from the Book of Jonah in the Old Testament and is simply known to the modern world as “Jonah and the Whale.” Sadly, the story, while good, contains two fundamental flaws; one flaw based in science the other based in meaning. While most stories in the bible are symbolic in nature, this particular one really stretches the boundaries of the imagination. Jonah, a minor prophet, was ordered by God to go to the city of Nineveh and preach to the residents about their shortcomings in the eyes of the Lord. Jonah decided against going and instead tried to escape to another city by ship to avoid his task. While at sea, a terrible storm descended upon the ship Jonah was on. Instead of praying to God for the ships survival like the other shipmates, Jonah went below deck and fell asleep. Upon seeing Jonah sleeping, the captain of the ship woke Jonah up and begged...
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...Marine Biology Marine biology and marine sciences have many avenues of research and there is always some kind of research going on in this area. One of the growing concerns of marine sciences and biology is the issue of harmful algae blooms in the seas. “Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are proliferations of algae that can cause massive fish kills, contamination of seafood with toxins, and/or ecological damage through the development of anoxia or habitat alteration”http://ioc.unesco.org/hab/GEOHABWhatare%20HABs.htm (Accessed March 26, 2006). These blooms have been known to cause many problems the world over. These HABs can have adverse effects on the society by economic and health risks. Many researches believe that the occurrence of HABs is growing throughout the world. Many researches are currently being undertaken on these creatures in order to find out more about their distribution, environmental impacts, and their effects on human health, but these researches have been greatly limited by critical gaps in the knowledge of the physiological, behavioral, and genetic characteristics of these things( Ibid). Normal algae are a critical part of the ecosystem. “Algae, like land plants, capture the sun’s energy and support the food web that leads to fish and shellfish. They occur in a size range from tiny microscopic cells floating in the water column (phytoplankton) to large mats of visible “macroalgae” that grow on bottom sediments”http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/hab/ (Accessed March...
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...Lyonia Preserve is a great example of an inland scrub habitat. All though a majority of the area was roller chopped and prepared to be burned, it still displayed all the necessary characteristics of an oak scrub habitat. Throughout the semester we have discussed many times the importance of fire in a habitat and how fire actually maintains the area but this was the first time we have actually been able to see man’s role in the maintenance. Roller chopping approximately 25% of the area and allowing the brush to dry seems to be key element in the maintaining of this habitat. From the areas that we explored it appeared that the Lyonia Preserve had not been burned in quite some time. The fire regime for this type of habitat typically is every 10 to 15 years, this spacing allows the oaks to regrow and...
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