Solving the Elkhorn Coral Mystery with the Scientific Method The epidemic of the white pox disease in coral species was terrible. The way the scientists solved this mystery is the use of the Scientific Method. First the team had make an observation, next was to conduct the experiment, and lastly is too draw conclusions. I am going to tell you three out of the eight steps to the scientific method that the team of scientists used to determine that the white pox disease was the cause of the sudden demise of the Elkhorn coral. The first step in this process was to make an observation. In order to do this you have to be out in the field of work. The observation that was made in this predicament is that more than half of all corals were dying. Paragraph 4, it states, ““Between 1996 and 2012, more than half of all corals in the Florida Keys alone had died”, says Porter.” What the author is elaborating is that half of a population of sea life has died and other marine life depended on those organisms. “The greatest decline was in Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata). From the authors point of view this me4ans that this particularly species was hit the hardest. …show more content…
What it means to conduct an experiment is a test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, to examine the validity of a hypothesis, or to determine the efficacy of something previously untried. The text says, in paragraph 15, “The scientists exposed fragments of Elkhorn coral to the strain found in humans to find out if it would cause the disease.” What the author is trying to say is that to test their theory on if that the disease was a pathogenically passed disease they had to test it to see if this statement was
experiment is to see how much harm a person will give to another person just because some scientist
Corals provide shelter for nearly one quarter of all known marine species. The reefs are home to over 4000 species of fish, 700 species of coral, and thousands of other forms of plant and animal life. Living coral reefs are the foundation of marine life, and this also means that they are essential for human life, but all over the world they are dead or dying because people are destroying them at a very fast rate. Already 10% have been lost, and there are predictions that 705 of all corals on the planet will be destroyed in 20 to 40 years unless people stop doing what they are doing now – i.e., pollution, sewage, erosion, cyanide fishing, bad tourism.
Scientists make progress by using the scientific method, a process of checking conclusions against nature. After observing something, a scientist tries to explain what has been seen. The explanation is called a hypothesis. There is always at least one alternative hypothesis. A part of nature is tested in a "controlled experiment" to see if the explanation matches reality. A controlled experiment is one in which all treatments are identical except that some are exposed to the hypothetical cause and some are not.
A. Global Warming kills Great Barrier Reef coral. http://www.usyd.edu.au/su/exterel/news/981008News/8.10.coral.html. Coral bleaching http://www.uvi.edu/coral.reefer/bleach.htm Coral Reef http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=050FE000 Coral reefs in peril worldwide. http://usatoday.com/life/science/environ/lse011.htm Coral'stress' worsening, expert says.
Wilkinson, C., Linden, O., Cesar, H., Hodgson, G., Rubens, J., and Strong, A., 1999, Ecological and Socioeconomic Impacts of 1998 Coral Mortality in the Indian Ocean: An ENSO Impact and a Warning for Future Change: Ambio, v., 28, no.2, p. 188-196.
An experiment was now required to figure out the agent responsible for the disease. First, scientists did intensive testing on specimen from patients and tissues taken from autopsies. Epidemiologists were able to learn that the cause of the agent was not any known microbial agent, so they hypothesized that the disease was probably caused by some unknown organism that
Imagine a lush underwater place. Beautiful structures colorful animals and places that would never have been thought of before. In reality that's not what it really looks like, really the ocean is a desolate place that is barren like a desert. Many marine species have been lost by as much as 49%.(seeker) A big part of that reason is because of coral bleaching which causes as stated above a decline in species that depend on the coral as there home. Coral bleaching is a serious problem that could cause problems for everyone if we don’t fix it.
Oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface. The talk of climate change can often seem to focus on what is happening in our atmosphere, but there is a lot of change going on in our oceans. The oceans have absorbed 90% of the excess heat and 28% of the carbon pollution generated by human consumption of fossil fuels (Nuccitelli 2015). The purpose of this paper is to show how the effects of climate change effect the coral reefs in our oceans, with a focus on the coral reef systems in the Caribbean and of the Great Barrier Reef. The Caribbean coral reefs are well known to have suffered more damage between the two reef systems. That’s not to say that the Great Barrier Reef has not suffered its own damage. It has and will continue to suffer in the future.
This article discusses how important the organisms symbiotic with coral reefs are, as well as how important coral reefs are to our environment. Also explained is how natural and non natural things things like hurricanes and overfishing affects them. A study is quoted about how water acidity also plays a role in the bleaching of corals. Lastly, restoration and conservation efforts are discussed and how we could possibly help our oceans.
Coral reefs are well known for their colorful array of marvelous sights including a parade of exotic flora and fauna. They are said to be the foundation for a quarter of marine species, and are a crucial support for human life as well. The coral reef ecosystem is a diverse collection of species (ranging from microscopic to larger-than-life in size) that interact with each other and their physical environment. If any piece of a coral reef is harmed or removed the entire community can be seriously affected, even to the point of collapse. Unfortunately, human impact has resulted in long-term stresses that, unlike the short-term stress of natural disasters, coral reefs are not as capable to recover from. “Approximately half of the world’s coral reef ecosystem resources are considered by scientists to be in 'poor' or 'fair' condition and have declined over time due to several anthropogenic threats” (“Status of Corals” par. 2). Through poorly administered commercial practices, carelessness and ignorance among the common people, and human aggravated natural processes coral reef destruction has become a serious issue afflicting the world’s biodiversity and it’s intricate biosphere mechanics (“Human Impact on the Great Barrier Reef” 1) (“What Are Coral Reefs?” 1).
resolve problems. With the scientific method you have four steps to follow which include defining the
The researchers used DNA sequencing from a male chimpanzee’s blood to present the genomes; it is most closely aligned with humans. This event can explain farther how feasible the animal testing is, and explain the reaction of using animals on testing is just related the DNA sequencing, not about the environment (Lovgren 2005). There are no absolutely things on experiment. Scientists use different animal model and repeated experiments to get surest data that is the best way to test a new product before put it in
Another point explicitly stated in the film was that corals didn’t really have a life expectancy. However, because of climate change, they die early. It was discovered that some corals were turning white after six months which is definitely fatal to our planet because we may witness the eradication of an entire ecosystem in our lifespan as said by Doctor Ruth Gates. In addition to this, there is a big heat wave travelling near the planet which leaves dead corals in its trail and in 25 years, all of the world’s corals wouldn’t be able to keep up with this heat and they will all eventually
The steps that are included in most pre-college textbooks are defining the problem, gathering background information, forming a hypothesis, making observations, testing the hypothesis, drawing conclusions, and communicating the results, but this method is not used. One reason for this myth is the way results are published in research journals because it makes people believe that scientists follow a certain research plan. Philosophers have shown that no research procedure is applied by all scientists. Usually scientists use imagination, knowledge, perseverance, and other methods used by problem solvers. This myth teaches that science is not different from other challenges that humans face. This myth has a chance to be corrected because many newer textbooks are taking the method out of the discussions of
In conclusion, I would like to say that before writing this paper, I had no idea how important coral reefs were to the earth. I have learned a lot and I think that if more people were informed about the positive capabilities of them, humans wouldn't be so careless about them.