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Essays on protecting endangered species
Protection of endangered species
Endangered animals
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The Physogyra lichtensteini is an endangered species that needs our help. There are many threats to the species such as, costal development, pollution, and trade. These threats are all caused by human actions. Throughout this paper I will discuss the threats to the Physogyra lichtensteini and how humans can possibly reverse the threats to the species.
The Physogyra lichtensteini common name is the pearl bubble coral. The Physogyra lichtensteini is an invertebrate, which means it does not have a backbone and is a part of the phylum Cnidaria. In order to be in the phylum Cnidaria, the species must have stinging organelles, have a mouth and a basic digestive system. The Physogyra lichtensteini lives in shallow tropical waters all over the world. It can be found in at least 83 countries.
The trade of Physogyra lichtensteini and destructive fishing practices have endangered the already vulnerable species. Legally 11,000 specimen of pearl bubble coral are allowed to be harvested per year, which takes a toll on the species dwindling numbers. In Indonesia alone 10,500 pieces of live pearl bubble coral were traded. In order to protect the species from extinction countries should ban the harvest and trade of the species. In addition to the ban on the trade of the pearl bubble coral, countries should make additional effort to catch people who are illegally harvesting pearl bubble coral and other endangered corals. Destructive fishing practice such as cyanide fishing put all coral in danger. Fishermen squirt cyanide in between space in the coral and on the fish to stun it. When doing this it creates a cloud of toxic chemicals which is poisonous to the organism around it. Another destructive fishing practice is dynamite fishing also ...
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...gyra lichtensteini we must do something to help. The trade of the pearl bubble coral needs to be banned and a effort should be made to catch those who illegally harvest endangered coral. Reckless fishing practices such as, dynamite fishing and cyanide fishing should be banned in every country. Efforts should be made to prevent pollution, which is a big cause of the decline in Physogyra lichtensteini. Water quality effects in marine life should be better studies and more efforts should be made to stop water pollution from degrading the quality of ocean waters. Coastal development should be closely watched and building things on or over coral reefs should be banned. The Physogyra lichtensteini should be preserved for future generations. In conclusion, the Physogyra lichtensteini needs our help and we should do whatever it takes to secure the survival of the species
The nonnative species of the lionfish, living in tropical waters to depths far below is an unseen threat by first glance. Truth behold, this fish is a serious pest since the first sighting in Dania Beach back in the 1980s. Presently, it has grown out of its bounds and causes harm not only to the sea life but trouble to humans as well. An unmatched appetite with a fast and large reproduction to spawn its species in a matter of only a short time, makes this invasive fish at the top of a sounding alarm. Clever biological adaptations have made this fish a tough fighter to the ecosystem and only in the past few years have we learned to take effective measures to control their population to save our coral reefs.
Earth, an endless source of wonder and beauty, produced the Great Barrier Reef. Hustling and bustling, the Reef thrives like a busy city, teeming with life. Sheltering thousands, corals, maintain the well-being of the Reef; however, the world threatens its nature and delicacy. Populations growing and technological advances increasing, the world becomes more and more disconnected with the natural world, posing an alarming risk for the planet we live on. Although many organizations try to keep the oceans clean, because of human interference and unnatural occurrences, the Great Barrier Reef needs scientific help to adapt corals to new conditions for means of survival, putting pressure on the Australian government to save their ocean environment.
Commercial fishing of other marine animals is one of the main reasons for drastic decline in all sea turtles. Turtles rely on air to breathe despite being marine animals, therefore when captured in nets while scavenging for food they most likely drown. In the US alone 250,000 turtles are accidently captured, injured or killed every year. (WWF, conserveturtles) However, there is also commercial fishing within sea turtles. Turtle’s shells, skin, meat and, eggs are valuable and decorative items that many humans want to
They are invertebrates (spineless animals) and are cousins of anemones and jellyfish. When thousands of these animals are grouped together, they are referred to as coral colonies. Each coral "tree" or "mound" is one colony of coral polyps. A polyp has a sac-like body and an opening or mouth encircled by stinging tentacles called cnidae.
The reef is the is “also the largest structure on Earth made by living organisms” (Zimmermann). The Great Barrier Reef has many different types of reefs. Nearby Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Swain Reefs is a cresentic reef. A cresentic reef “shaped like crescents” (Zimmermann). The crescentic reefs are commonly found in the middle of the reef system. Bordering Cape York Peninsula, Princess Charlotte Bay and Cairns flat reefs can be found. Planar reefs which are the same as flat reefs can be found in the north and south parts Cape York Peninsula, Princess Charlotte Bay and Cairns. To the north of the Great Barrier Reef, the reef is twisty and narrow. When a reef is twisty and narrow, it is called a ribbon reef. The south of the Great Barrier Reef is a fringing reef. The south of the reef is very unusual, due to the fact the fringing reef is attached to the Whitsunday islands. Usually fringing reefs are not attached to any islands. Also, found all over the reefs are lagoonal reefs
The Great Barrier Reef is home to a remarkable number of organisms. The coral itself is made up of the skeletons of tiny, flowerlike water animals called polyps, held together by a limestone substance produced by a type of algae. Hundreds...
With a coastline of over 202 000 km and over a fourth of the world’s freshwater resources, it is no wonder why Canada’s fishing industry is a huge part of its economy.1 Canada exports more than 75% of its fish to over 130 countries worldwide. Many of the 7 million people who reside on the coast depend on the ocean’s resources. In total, Canada’s entire fishing industry is worth around 5$ billion dollars a year, being one of the world’s most valuable. However, the coasts have not been treated by respect; overfishing, over consumption, and wasteful practices has deteriorated, not only the industry, but the ecosystems and fish populations. This is a huge global issue; the worldwide collapse of fisheries has been project for 2048. Slowly, as the trends continue, we will inevitably see many fish species start to disappear. In fact, the ill-treatment of species on the Canadian border has already devastated a large specie, the cod.
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.
Soft corals are grouped in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, and order Alcyonacea. Their distinguishing characteristic is that their polyps always bear eight tentacles which are on both edges fringed by rows of pinnules (Fabricius and De’ath, 2002). The common name “soft coral” comes from the fact that they have no massive external skeleton as compared to the more commonly studied hard corals.
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.
The Great Barrier Reef is an exemplary model of the famous exotic coral reef seen in a copy of the National Geographic or the popular animated film Finding Nemo. Located on the coast of Australia, it is known as the “largest biological organism in the world” (“Human Impact on the Great Barrier Reef” par. 1). The idea bears that coral reefs are again not an assortment of organisms functioning separately but rather working together to thrive. The groups of coral that are seen in t...
Introducing exotic species has been a highly debated issue. Why should we bring another animal or plant into a region to eradicate another species? That’s the question that people have been asking for ages. Of course, there are positives to bringing in another species, but many times, there are just as many negatives. Also, these species can be introduced accidentally or intentionally. The new organism may cause no obvious problems and eventually, it will be considered “native” to the area. For example, corals are “perhaps the oldest animals on the planet, and these long-lived corals have evolved in one of the Earth’s most stable environments” (Eichenberg, p.2). If a new type of fish were to be put into the ecosystem with the corals, the coral would be affected. First, the fish might eat the coral. Second, they could use the coral for shelter, and possibly damaging it that way. Third, the fish could bring predators that might also eat the coral. Introducing an exotic species has the “rippling affect” of dropping a stone into a pool of water. Everything outside the epicenter is affected. A study was done at Cornell University, and they estimated that $120 billion per year are spent fixing the problems caused by exotic species” (Chiras, p.
The Great barrier reef has had many recent hardships, including water pollutants and the increasing water temperature. Although it may be too late to save this particular reef we the people must not be so nearsighted to the
Did you know that more than 90 percent of all organisms that have ever lived on Earth are extinct? According to Pandey, the author of Humans Pushing Marine Life toward ‘Major Extinction’, nearly 10,000 species go extinct each year, and this rate is estimated to be 1,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate (1). Human beings are causing irreversible damage to the oceans and their wildlife, which is being led by two major reasons: Commercial fishing or over-fishing, which damaged the marine environment and caused a loss in the marine life diversity, and pollution, which is a primary way of the extinction causes that drastically modifies the marine life habitat. As a result of the commercial fishing and pollution, many of the marine species will start disappearing of the oceans. Briggs emphasizes that over-fishing “has induced population collapses in many species. So instead of having less than a hundred species at risk, as was the case some 30-40 years ago, there are now a thousand or more (10).”
Coral reefs need to be preserved for many reasons. In this paper, I will discuss a few of them. First of all, they house a collection of diverse organisms, and contribute to fisheries which provide food items such as fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. Furthermore, coral skeletons are being used as bone substitutes in reconstructive bone surgery and may be able to provide important medicine, including anti-cancer drugs and a compound that blocks ultra-violet rays, they even help reduce global warming by taking carbon dioxide out of the air. These reefs provide a habitat for many species.