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American whaling essay introductions
Whaling and its impact
Whaling and its impact
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The numbers of marine mammals present in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States has fluctuated over the past century. Declines have been credited to various causes, which are a mix of anthropogenic and natural processes. One major cause of marine mammal decline is whaling. Even though this practice has been prohibited, the effects of commercial whaling in the United States can still be seen today. The main whale species affected included North Pacific right whales (Eubalaena japonica), bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), and gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus). Sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) were exploited in an increased fashion after World War II (Springer et al., 2003). Whaling did not only affect whale populations, but it also affects populations of seals, sea lions, and sea otters. This is hypothesized to be the result of top-down forces from whaling, forcing great whales to shift their food sources to these smaller marine mammals. During the Second World War, whaling of great whales was at its peak. These whales were used for oils for lubricants, food, and other needs of the people of the United States. However, this heavy use of great whale stocks forced killer whales (Orcinus orca) to begin feeding on smaller marine mammals, such as seals, sea lions, and sea otters (Trites et al., 2006). It is also thought that declines in these smaller marine mammals is due to a decline in nutritional limits in their habitats, competition with fisheries, as well as changing climates.
The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) has had a slow recovery since the cessation of commercial...
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...ws and acts such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, Fur Seal Act, Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and the Coastal Management Act, have all helped to prevent the stocks of these important organisms from declining even further. Even though these have been enacted, the general public still needs to be educated and made aware of the population trends of these animals, as well as their importance to the tropic systems surrounding our coastlines. Many individuals do not realize, for instance, that Sea Otters are a keystone species in kelp bed habitats, and without them, kelp forests would dwindle in numbers and the health of those ecosystems would decline rapidly. Kelp forests provide habitat for over a thousand species of animals, many of which are important for fisheries and without those forests, fish abundance would fall as well.
Shirihai, H. and B. Jarrett (2006). Whales, Dolphins and Other Marine Mammals of the World. Princeton, Princeton University Press. p.185-188.
Whales living in captivity become aggravated and have been known to take out anger on themselves by self harming. In the pools they live in, metal bars are placed in between the pools to prevent the killer whales from swimming to another pool. On several occurrences, the whales have attempted to bite and break the metal bars. This leaves the whales with broken teeth and a risk of infection. Infections in killer whales can lead to death in many cases. If a whale gets an infection, they have to be taken out of the pool and placed into another pool by themselves to prevent any problems with other killer whales they live with. In many cases, whales with infections need serious care from whale specialists.
Disruption of any of their vital functions can significantly disturb the fitness of whales. (Unknown3) There are many factors that affect... ... middle of paper ... ... ue 4 Page 356 Malme, C.L Miles, P.R., Miller, G.W., Richardson, W.J., Roseneau, D.G., Thomson, K.H., and Green, C.R., (1989) Analysis and ranking of acoustic disturbance potential of petroleum industry activities and other sources of noise in the environment of marine mammals in Alaska.
Well, you know that killer whales get fed in their daily feeding schedule, but do they get fed enough to survive, or will they die of hunger? Well, you know how killer whales can get food and they do not have to get food for themselves. Well let’s just say that if a sea zoo releases a whale back into the wild and the whale is used to being fed by his feeder, so then the whale waits and waits for his food but it does not come. So then the killer whale would die. Also I found on a google chart that in 2004, there were a lot of killer whales but when more years past by, the killer whale population decreased when the population got to 2017, and whoever took the killer whales, is responsible for this decrease in the killer whale
A third threat to the sea otter populations is predation from killer whales. It was observed that in certain areas of Alaska many sea otter populations had been decreasing since the early 1990s. Killer whale predation is believed to be cause of their decline for the following reasons. The first line of reasoning being, an increased number of sightings of attacks on sea otters by killer whales. The first attack was reported in 1991, but since then an additional nine attacks had been reported. From this it was determined that killer whales had been preying on sea otters, since the probability of actually seeing an attack in such a large area was extremely low and a number of attacks had already been seen. Second, it was observed that in areas occupied by killer whales, sea otter populations have been decreasing; whereas in areas inaccessible to killer whales, sea otter populations were constant. Lastly, by extrapolating the number of sea otters that have been killed by killer whales based on the decreasing population rate and comparing it to the observed number of attacks. The results showed that the estimated number, 5.05, was very similar to the observed number, 6, of killer whale attacks over a 6-year period (Estes, et al., 2016). It is estimated that in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands, 40,000 sea otters have been consumed by killer whales; a 95 percent reduction in the population (Garshelis and Johnson, 2013).
Orca whales do not like to be taken from their family, held captive for many decades and put with other whales that they do not know. No other living organism on this planet would like to be put through the same thing. Orca whales are highly social animals, they are very intelligent, and are very emotional. If they are kept away from other whales, fed intermittently and received little attention from staff makes them get very emotional and can lead to death of people and the whales. Orca whales should not be held captive; they are beautiful creatures that are not great for people’s amusement and if they are treated poorly, they will act poorly.
For example the canopies of kelp provide shelter for many organisms . Because the kelp is able to float, it creates a canopy. This canopy has warm temperatures and slow water currents, providing a home to defenseless young. This is important because the kelp is able to protect many organisms from predators and rough storms (6). Kelp is also the base of the food chain. Since kelp is the base of the food chain many organisms eat kelp and other animals eat them.This is important because without the kelp all the primary consumers would starve having no other food source (5). Finally each part of kelp is home to a different species. Because each part of kelp is home to a different species, many species breed in them. This is important because if the kelp where gone there would be no place for the organisms to breed downsizing their population (4). Overall kelp is providing food and shelter to many
The role of the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) as a keystone species has been studied for years. Studies have strongly discussed the function of this animal that, though few in number, have created large impacts in the ecosystem in which it inhabits. Their main choice of habitat lies in kelp forests due to the kelp’s effect on the reduction of wave action and their closeness to rocky shores which provide habitat for otter prey (Schiel and Foster, 2015). Sea otter impacts can be seen through the phenomenon of trophic cascades. Within the kelp forests, otters are the dominant predator, consuming many species of invertebrates such as sea urchins and abalone (Schiel and Foster, 2015). As the only marine mammal without blubber sea otters have
... In the debate over the ethics of whaling and its regulation since the formation of the IWC, widely diverse arguments have been made concerning the legitimacy of the whaling enterprise and the economic, ethical, and practical aspects of international regulation. Different views of ecology, culture, and legitimacy as they pertain to a valued resource and its exploitation for human purposes. While it is safe to say one must preserve the historical and cultural value of whaling nations and nations around the world, it can also be said of animals. While many nations continue to cling to their cultural ancestry, background of whaling, and the right for scientific research, it is proven that such human endeavors must be carefully and faithfully regulated.
Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are marine mammals indigenous to the North Pacific Ocean (Larson et al., 2015) and are members of the weasel family (Defenders.org, 2016). They are a keystone species in the kelp forest ecosystem (Defenders.org, 2016). Sea otters are considered an endangered species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list (Doroff and Burdin, 2015). At their highest point sea otter populations ranged from several hundred thousand to over a million (Defenders.org, 2016), but the Maritime fur trade led to the loss of over 99 percent of the population (Larson et al., 2015). The sea otter population rose, but never to what it once was, after fur traders stopped hunting them since it wasn’t profitable to them anymore. Sea otter populations have also decreased due to oil spills, habitat loss and predation by killer whales (Larson et al., 2015). Many actions have been taken to preserve the sea otter including the Fur Seal Treaty of 1911 and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (Larson et al., 2015).
This year they are listed under the endangered species act and has today 78 killer whales left. The factors that could be contributed to such a rapid change in the size of sea otter population is stop hunting sea otter down and killing them and selling them to fur traders.That is the big thing in the otter decline people from 1800 to 1900 hunted and sold them all time for there fur. killer Whales have a taste for sea otters and the sea lion and seals short in supply in the northern pacific. Killer whales are feeding on otters because of the absents of their prey. The lost of sea otters have effect on organism is Alaska’s sea otters decline the affects health of kelp forests and diet of eagles. Sea otters play a private part by keeping the kelp forest a healthy balance. By eating sea urchins-- the biggest threat to kelps forests--sea otters control sea urchins numbers and kept the ecosystem in balance. This ensured that these underwater plants could thrive and reach their maximum height of 250 ft.The sharp drop in sea otter numbers in this island chain of alaska is the predation level. killer whales need 61.54 kcal/male otters and kcal needed is 308000 kcal
Good morning Mrs Graham and class, my name is Molly Harris and my controversial law that I have chosen to amend is whaling. However before I talk I would like to show you a video. It is the least graphic video I found yet if you feel uncomfortable please look away.
Rowat, D., and K. S. Brooks. 2012. A review of the biology, fisheries and conservation of the whale shark Rhincodon typus. Jour. Of. Fish. Bio. 80:1019-1056. (DOI:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2012.03252.x).
I think one of the biggest messages as far as culture goes that we see in the film the whale Rider, is when all the wheels are forced up on the beach to the Maori this is not just a tragic event in the animal kingdom, to them it is a sign that their culture has lost its way. I think we can see the same cultural significance in how our own native Americans felt that losing the Buffalo was harbinger of their own people’s culture disappearing.
There are various methods on which biodiversity can be conserved. According to Buchanan (2002), keystone species should be prioritized for conservation. A keystone species is an organism which performs a critical role that greatly affects its community (Power et al., 1996). Sea otters, for example, are the keystone species in kelp forests. These mammals feed on sea urchins. Without sea otters regulating the sea urchins’ population, sea urchins would eat up most of the ecosystem’s kelp, which is one of the primary sources of food and shelter for that ecosystem. Everything that depends on kelp would be also much affected by the loss of sea otters. Thus, being a