The worst invasive species ever?

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/offbeat-news/the-5-worst-invasive-species-in-the-world/463

Throughout the years, many different type on introduced species have impacted the world and native species in one way or another. These few species are thought to be some of the worst introduced species yet.

Feral pigs are considered to be a bad introduced species. Although they were introduced through farming, many escaped. These pigs would tear through large chunks of land in order to find food, which would in turn negatively impact plant species, for their roots would be damaged and the plant would die, which would also harm species that rely on the plants for nourishment. These pigs would also consume cropland, causing millions of dollars of damage every year. In specific places, they would eat the native species eggs, causing their numbers to decrease. A location of example is Santiago Island, where sea turtle numbers were drastically reduced because of the eggs being consumed by the pigs.

Zebra mussles are also thought to be one of the worst introduced species. The zebra mussel, which is native to western Asia, was introduced into Europe during the 1700's. They were then introduced into North America by a European ship that accidentally released them into the Great Lakes. They caused millions of dollars in damage by colonizing water intake pipes which would then become clogged. There is also competition for food between them, and the native species.

However, one of the worst introduced species is the European rabbit. These rabbits were introduced by choice, when a hunter names Thomas Austin released twenty-four of the animals in order to have variety in the animals he would shoot. While other farmers also released rabbits, it is thought that Austin was responsible for the infestation. This human impact caused a horrible infestation that not only caused agricultural damage, but also helped contribute by nurturing many other non-native species such as foxes, or feral cats, which further damaged Australia's ecosystem.

Response: I never knew the damage caused by these species! it is truly amazing that these animals were very close in causing the extinction of others. It also surprised me that people released one by choice! I cannot believe that people would stoop so low just to get a thrill.

QUESTIONS:

1. Who released the European Rabbit?

2. Why are Zebra Mussels a threat?

3. What happened on Santiago Island?

4. How many European rabbits were released?

Massive Fish Kill in Gulf Caused by "Dead Zone," Oil?

Summary
Thousands of fish died belly-up in a marsh in Louisiana. No one really knows what the main reason why the fish died and they don’t know if it was just everything conspirering against the fish because fish decompose so fast that it's hard to get a fresh enough sample. Kevin Kleinow, a LSU fish toxicologist, said"Very surprised if someone was able to definitely determine the cause of death" for these fish”. Some theories of the fish death is that the agricultural runoff that goes into the Mississippi River contains nutrients that help the growth of an algae bloom that is oxygen-hungry. As the algae oxygen level goes down, the fish will choke. Anouther reason of the death of the fish can be the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This is causing a serge of oil-eating bacteria that take up oxygen. This expands the low oxygen dead zones. The last fish died at the time of the year when dead zones expands.
Opinion / Reflection
I was surprised about the death of all of the fish and that they will wash up on shore. One this will have a huge affect on an already messed-up ecosystem. Also this will make it harder to fish in areas where the fish are dying by the thousands.

Questions
1. How many fish died?

2. What is one way that could have had been the main reason the fish died?

3. why is it hard to get a fresh sample of a fish?


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/09/100916-fish-kill-louisiana-gulf-oil-spill-dead-zone-science-environment/

Grizzles make a comeback. . . or not.

Grizzly Bears have been an endangered speices for a long time, since 1975 actually. The government has a protection programs all over the country for these elusive bears, and in places like Yellowstone National Park and and the Continental Divide region of Montana, it has been helping. But in the North Cascades, no one can decide whether to preserve these dangerous predators. Because their population tripled in the Rockies, they were even taken off the endangered list. But as of last year, they were put back on because of the dangers of the shifting climate of recently. Because these bears cannot thrive in the North Cascade, Washington, movements have been made to try and move them. but unforunatly, no one can raise the 1 million to 2 million dollars needed. There are even doubts as to if there are even any Grizzlies left in that area. People are conducting searches for these animals, and so far the tests have been that there are bears in the area but they have to wait for the DNA of them to tell if they are Grizzly or Black Bear. Most people think that because they're a predator and are liable to eat livestock and damage property that they shouldn't be saved or rescued. There are only six areas of designated land where the Grizzlies are supposed to make a comeback, yet there are people that think they should die out.

I think it's horrible the way these bears are treated. People are just doing this because bears do what they have to do to survive. I'm glad that some of these people are stepping up and thinking what this will do to the ecosystem and to the world in general if these bears die.

1)How long have Grizzly Bears been endangered?
2)What three places have the bears made a sucsessful comeback?
3)Do you think that people should try to help the Grizzlies make a comeback in the North Cascades?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/science/earth/17grizzly.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Shark Reseachers Study Oil Impact

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-06-28/us/oil.spill.sharks_1_shark-population-larger-sharks-tiger-sharks?_s=PM:US

Summary:

The oil spill has been effecting the sharks very dramatically. Reacher Niel Hammerschlag, who has been studing sharks for a decade now, is tagging sharks in the Gulf to see their migratory and behavioral patterns. Sharks are pretty much at the top of the food chain and they pretty much eat everything under them, if they never touch the oil something they might eat might of been hurt by the oil. This will make the sharks die because they won't be eating as much. The way that sharks breathe is they "take in the water, the water goes over their gills and they extract out the oxygen." So if the sharks are in the oil it will be extremely hard for them to breathe. In the Gulf there are spots where people are not allowed to fish, because we don't want the people to get sick. If we don't get this oil cleaned up soon who knows what will happen to all the sharks.

Opinion/Reflection:

I think that it is a horrible thing that happened in the Gulf. Also it is pretty cool to see how some people are taking things into their own hands, and making sure that we are doing everything that we can, to try and see if the sharks are being effected by the oil. Its very interesting to see that if one thing gets damaged in a food chain how the rest of it will be effected. I hope that we can have the oil cleaned up fast so the food chain will be able to go back to normal!

Questions:

1. What is the name of the guy who is tagging these sharks?

2. How long has he been studing sharks?

3. How do sharks breathe?

4. What do you think we can do to help these sharks?

Population Increase From Unauthorized immigrants

Unauthorized population would soar if birthright citizenship repealed.

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/09/08/unauthorized.population.would.soar.if.birthright.citizenship.repealed

Summary:

If the US took away the citizenship for US born children of unathorized immigrants the population would increase at minimum of 5 million over the next 10 years. Even if we completley stoped illegal immigration these numbers would still add up. When the passage of House-introduced Birthright Citizenship Act ( the deny of citizenship to children who were born from unauthorized immagrants), was over looked it showed that it would increase from 10.8 million to 16 million by 2050. It was also found that in 2050 the share of US children that are unautherized would double from .02 (now) to .04 (2050). Other cases would be denying citizenship to a child who has 1 unautherized parent. By the third generation, 6.3 million US born people would be unauthorized even with two of there parents being authorized because of the birthright citizenship act. "What is less commonly understood in the current debate is that repeal of birthright citizenship would set in motion the creation of a self-perpetuating class of unauthorized immigrants," said reports coauthor, Michael Fix.

Opinion / Reflection:

I really had no idea about how much the birth rate of immagrents could expand. It Suprised me to see how many unauthrized US born people there could be in 2050. What i never really thought about and looked at in the long run was how by the third generation a child could have two US born parents but still be unauthorized.

Questions: (3-5)

1 - What is the act called that is denying citizenship to illegal immigrant children who are born in the US?

2 - By how much will the percent of unauthorized children be in 2050?

3 - What was the other case in which children still are unautherized?

4 - By the next decade how much will the nation expand by in unauthorized people at least?

Test

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