Humans have become the most dominant ecological force shaping the Earth’s ecosystems. Examples of the manifestation of this domination include increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels through the use of fossil fuels, nitrogen fixation levels through biologically fixing nitrogen, water consumption, and their role in increasing animal extinctions through. This domination has increased over time as the human population has grown and technological advances increase. According to Wackernagel and Rees (1996), the ecological footprint which is a measure of the “load” imposed by a given human population on the environment and represents the land area necessary to sustain current levels of resource consumption that has increased significantly. According to Ian F. Spellberberg (2005), the world’s ecological footprint has increased by 50% between 1970 and 1997. This correlates to the rise in human population. Vitousek et al. will introduce that human population size and resource use keeps growing because of the enterprises that humans set up, such as agriculture, industry, recreation, and international commerce. He emphasizes that human domination negatively affects land transformation, the additions and losses of biotic organisms, and our global biogeochemistry. These changes alter climate and the loss of our biological diversity. Furthermore, Halpern et al. will explain that negatively impacting our ecosystems can have large, direct and indirect effects on oceanic systems which can have detrimental effects on oceanic species. Gray supports Halpern et al.’s information by stating that there has been an increase in the extinction of marine fish species and oceanic biodiversity due to human interactions. Lastly, Dulvy et al. proposes a ...
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... on the extinction of marine populations. Conservation helps decline the extinction of marine populations and MPAs help reach targets quicker.
Humans are the most dominant ecological force shaping the Earth’s ecosystems. They affect the land, the abiotic factors, and the biodiversity of the species living on the land. Vitousek et al. explained that humans dominate Earth and negatively affect ecosystems. Halpern et al. explained that these negative strains placed on the ecosystems by humans, directly and indirectly, have an effect on oceanic systems. Gray concluded that these human effects cause a decrease in marine biodiversity and Dulvy et al. further explain that it also causes an increase in marine extinction. According to Toonen et al., conservation, however, can be a start to help reduce the extinction of marine fish and help increase marine biodiversity again.
Climate change and Global Warming are out of control. This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This also has permanent impacts of the ecology not just of those immediate areas but also the ocean as a whole.
The eradication of species numbers average at a toll close to one hundred percent of earths total living creatures. “It is the Earth's most severe known extinction event, with up to 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species becoming extinct” (Sahney, and Benton 759). Not only where marine and terrestrial species effected but this catastrophic event is the only recogni...
Faye, Denis. “Marine protection Learning to give and take.” Ecos Jan. 1999: 17.Academic OneFile. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
There are many types of ecosystems”Some are them are immense biomes and other can be minor ecosystems like a puddle or a tree trunk”, but wouldn't it be amazing too have a ecosystem the size of a pop bottle. Luckily this is not a hallucination Ecosystems like these are called ecocolumn which are basically a simulation of a medium ecosystem synce it contains a small aquarium on the bottom and a terrarium in the top. By doing these we are going to be able to see the relationships between the consumers, producers and decomposers, In these case the decomposer can be the earthworm the consumers can be the fish and the producers can be the plants these organism are characterized in these category because of their symbiotic relationship. In a Ecocolumn
There is no hesitation when it comes to whether humans impact the global environment. However, it is questioned in whether human’s ecological footprint is either negatively or positively impacting. In clear perspective, humans share from both sides and their ecological footprint is noted towards whether it will benefit or harm the environment around them. Topics such as overpopulation, pollution, biomagnification, and deforestation are all human impacted and can harm the environment, but some include benefits into helping the world around us with solutions to their problems.
middle of paper ... ... With guidance from Edgar’s research, future MPAs should be designed to incorporate the five key features discussed, and in relation to these factors additional consideration should be given to the future activities that may influence an MPA’s effectiveness, for example future marine uses such as alternative forms of energy. This is where the Halpern’s suggestion to focus more on ecosystem-based management approaches may present a possible means to do so, as this approach addresses the wider-scope issues that will impact the world’s oceans on a global scale and may help limit effects, outside the boundaries of MPAs, that could potentially shape and alter the ability of an MPA to achieve its conservation goals.
I strongly agree with the statement that health promotion programs and policies informed by a social ecological (SE) framework would allow for a comprehensive approach to intervention. The SE model is a very valuable framework for theorizing multiple levels of determinants of health behaviors (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2015). These levels include intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional/organizational, community, and public policy. The SE model includes different factors or levels that are important for addressing major public health issues and these levels are useful guides for the design of comprehensive multilevel interventions (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2015). Interventions that consider a multiple levels of influence and are tailored to specific health behaviors are more likely to yield sustainable effects and affect many more people (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2015).
“Modern man does not experience himself as a part of nature but as an outside force destined to dominate and conquer it. He even talks of a battle with nature, forgetting that if he won the battle he would find himself on the losing side” (E.F. Schumacher, 1974).
Tundra is the coldest of all the biomes. Tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturia, meaning treeless plain. It is noted for its frost-molded landscapes, extremely low temperatures, little precipitation, poor nutrients, and short growing seasons. Dead organic material functions as a nutrient pool. The two major nutrients are nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen is created by biological fixation, and phosphorus is created by precipitation. Tundra is separated into two types: arctic tundra and alpine tundra.
Oceans are such so vast that people underestimate the impact their actions —seeming so insignificant— have on them. Humans have by and large taken the oceans for granted; not considering how important a healthy ocean is to our survival. A popular mind-set is that the oceans are a bottomless supply of fish, natural resources, and an infinite waste dump. There are myriad reasons why the oceans should be saved and the most obvious one is marine life. With 71% of the Earth being covered by water, it is obvious that sea creatures are predominant form of life, making up 80% of the species of life on Earth. However, as important as marine life is, that is not the only reason why saving the oceans is crucial. The ocean floor provides natural resources such as, oil, natural gas, petroleum, minerals, medications, and ingredients for foods and products. The economic benefits of the oceans are huge and significant, as well. Fishing and fish products have provided employment to 38 million people and have generated about $124 billion in economic benefits. However, oceans are on the verge of crisis, marine life, natural resources, transportation, the economy, and important ingredients are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and acidification. Thus, in this essay I will argue that, oceans are not impervious to human activity and threatening the health of the ocean threatens the health of humanity, since oceans key to our survival.
The first cause of the marine extinction is coming from over-fishing and commercial fishing. According to Marine Extinction and Conservation, commercial fishing has
"Human Population Growth and Oceans." Center for Biological Diversity. Center for Biological Diversity, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
People have been relying for their daily needs and well-being on nature. The natural ecosystem provides varieties of goods and services to us, for instance, fresh water, fisheries, timber, water purification etc. The benefits that people directly get from the natural systems are called ecosystem services (ES).
Bowermaster, Jon. Oceans: The Threats to Our Seas and What You Can Do to Turn the Tide: A Participant Media Guide. New York: PublicAffairs, 2010. Print.
Social ecology is the conceptual principles for knowing the outcomes and relations of the many diverse individual and environmental factors. Social ecology is defined as the study of people within an environment, which have influence on one another. It’s believed to be the earth’s societies reflection upon itself, exploring, discovering, and considering its future (Gutkind, 1974). Factors of social ecology may include the infirmities of age, an increase of population, natural disasters, technology and the growth of society. Within social ecology it is important to notice which people are unable to see the environmental crisis. This movement is placing all the responsibility for destroying the earth on humans as they are overpopulating the planet. There is no possible way of convincing all humans to change their way of life (Bookchin, 1995). However, rather have humans distinguish and eliminate previous forms of control and destruction (Bookchin, 1995). The main standard of social ecology is the fact that problems occur from inherent social issues (Dogan, Rokkan, 1974). These problems cannot be understood without acknowledging the social issues. The development, of certain technologies, social characteristics, cities and science all has caused a vast majority of problems to the earth, which leads back to humans.