Predators: Strange Days on Planet Earth is an interesting video about predators’ effects on their ecosystems. The video found on Films on Demand describes how many ecosystems across the world are in danger because of the lack of predators. Venezuela’s Lake Guri is in chaos because beasts of prey have long since fled because of a flood, and now, herbivores are overpopulated and have depleted resources. Yellowstone’s Aspen tree problem seems to have started with the killing of wolves and has gotten better when wolves were brought back, allowing less elk and more plant life. Jamaica and other places near the sea have seen their fish disappearing, along with their coral reefs. The fish are disappearing because fisherman had taken large carnivore …show more content…
Predators gave insight as to what predators are really needed for. The video talks about how the environment without predators slowly dies, but the real problem is humans. It was people that became selfish and scared that caused the destruction of ecosystems. We were the ones that caused a flood, killing thousands of animals, in order to create hydraulic power. We were the ones that killed off the wolves, and we were the ones that killed so many fish for food, moving from breast of prey to the prey themselves. Predators mentions that people are unsure if animals would be able to adapt to today’s world , but I think they would be able to. Animals have been adapting to the world for a while now, and our world should not be any different. Whether or not humans would like to learn to coexist with animals of prey is a different story. I believe that humans are creatures of habit and for the most part do not like to get out of our comfort zones, so when we are confronted with animals that can be a threat, the easiest solution would be to eliminate the problem, as can be seen with the wolves at Yellowstone National Park. I also believe humans do not always think in a long term way. In all of the ecosystems described in the video, human action led to decay of ecosystems but could have
On a day to day basis, most people take for granted the lives we get to live, and put too much value on the extra things such as materialistic items. Also, the majority of humans are too invested in their personal lives or with themselves that they do not look at the big picture of how what we are doing now will effect us later. As humans, the routines in our lives can bring us harm, and within time a we may become the sixth extinction. In “The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert, she gives many examples of animals that are or may become extinct. Along with ways humans contribute to the effort of putting them in danger or having them become extinct. In the end having a summary of how this all comes together and impacts us humans in more
Man has destroyed nature, and for years now, man has not been living in nature. Instead, only little portions of nature are left in the world
The film attempts to tackle a multitude of huge species killers such as the increase in greenhouse gases leading to a global increase in average temperatures. According to the film, the biggest factor in terms of this mass extinction is destroying natural habitat and converting it to land for food. Thus, it is no surprise that the more dependent we are on dairy and meat, the greater the CO2 and methane gas emissions. Cattle produce methane as a bi-product for breaking down grass and methane is 22 times more potent as a climate change gas than is CO2. Therefore, 1.5 billion cows across the planet being raised for livestock cause a big problem (Racing Extinction 2015). Methane causes more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation sector. The film also shows how rising temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions is changing the ocean chemistry killing off coral and phytoplankton. Thus, fundamentally altering the marine ecosystem. Marine research geologist, Dr.Boris Worm used satellite imagery to determine that we may have lost 40% of phytoplankton production in just the last fifty years. This is profound because the phytoplankton in the ocean produce half of the oxygen we breathe in order to stay alive (Racing Extinction 2015). The film uses these examples in order to inspire a movement among the world’s citizens to alter their lives in order to prevent a sixth extinction from occurring. They use the strategy of image dissemination; displaying graphic images of animal slaughter and endangered species, hoping to elucidate an emotional response from the viewers. However, I believe the scope of issues the film attempts to address are too large to be solved through image
As a great deal is being done to help endangered wildlife as well as animals in general, there is still a considerable amount of improvements to make. “The exterminating of predators by governments or individuals is wrong-headed, extremely selfish, cruel and the very worst example of wildlife management. It is failed management. In today's backwards and upside-down world, our wildlife needs our protection, not extermination” (Pitt). We need to instill the good values of animals in today’s society so that we may work towards better maintenance of the future lives of these animals. Instead of mounting an animal’s head on the wall as a prize and reducing wildlife population, we should be proud of the variety of species we have on earth and leave them to live free.
Through millions of years of evolution, well-balanced habitats have co-evolved to provide for the wide variety of species and their needs. Trees have adapted to weeds, weeds have adapted to the predation from herbivores, and so on up the food chain. Similar scenarios are seen throughout the world. Through the process of natural selection, specific species or broad species families will go extinct. However, these occurrences have largely been due to the natural flow and evolution of time. It wasn’t until recently that dominant species, such as humans, have taken the course of nature into their own hands.
People today use hunting as a sport. Of course, not everyone agrees with hunting, but those who like to hunt justify their actions by saying that they are helping with the overpopulation of animals, like deer. The truth is that we are affecting the population of animals. Animal overpopulation can be due to the loss of an animal’s natural predator. Predators are extremely important in an ecosystem, and they are nature’s way of controlling the animal population. In William Stolzenburg’s book, Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators, he addresses the importance of predators in an ecosystem. He discusses an experiment done by a zoologist named Robert T. Paine. Paine decided to do an experiment to see what happens when one disrupts an ecosystem. He conducted his experiment on rocks along the shore in which a species of starfish was the top predator. Paine’s experiment consisted of grabbing the starfish off the rocks and throwing them into the ocean. His results showed that one single species has a tremendous effect on its ecosystem. After getting rid of the top predator, about half of the species that
The theory of “super-predators” was a prediction that never existed and became a myth to society and criminologist after the fact that the concept that revolves around the myth of super-predators had already create chaos that led many states throughout the country to implement laws in protection for what was to come. All the misconceptions of the exaggerated fear and concerns came to pass and the credits slowly dissipate when the violent wave of events did not exist as it was predicted by the experts. The prediction was never coming to pass, but the consequences that was put forth to the community of such myth lingers within the targeted community because it categorized such group of people as the main cause of the super-predators. So, what are super-predators?
The act of killing predators is justifiable when killing them to stop them from overpopulating and to stop them from consuming farm animals, however it should be monitored so mass killings or even extinction of certain species doesn’t occur. Predator species in America include: Gray wolves, badgers, black bears, coyotes, cougars, bobcats, and the frightening grizzly bear.
According to Pollan, “predation is not matter of morality or politics; it, also, is a matter of symbiosis” (Pg 691). Pollan describes the relationship between the wolf and the deer. While it may seem quaint, the deer needs to be hunted by the wolf in order to control the population and overall well being of the species. Without wolves, the deer population will spiral out of control until there is not enough resources available to sustain the whole population. In this case, the deer will begin to starve and will stop producing young as a result of the lack of resources. While the wolf is depended upon in nature to preserve a balance, so is man. Pollan believes that humans have taken over the predator’s ecological role in many areas, and it is because of the need for balance that it is ethical to eat animals. There are also other learned behaviors and traits humans have that Pollan uses to express his
In his book ‘Small is Beautiful’, E.F. Schumacher contemplated the theory that during our battle with nature, alleged success for humans may in fact have unforeseen consequences, due to the complex relationship that humans and ecosystems possess. In 2005 the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) published a set of prominent reports, which indicated just how reliant humans are on natural ecosystems. They also demonstrated how we are destroying the planet’s biodiversity, along with the ecosystems upon which we depend.
Humans are destructive. Not a lot of us think about how what we do affects the world around us. We almost act like we are the only ones on this planet. We go around polluting and destroying our world with no regard for our actions. The things that live out in the wild are paying the price for it. Every day that passes there is another animal or plant that is placed on an endangered list. This is happening at an alarming rate. Because of man’s desire to expand and conquer their surroundings, there are animals and plants that are on the brink of extinction that will not be around for our kids and future generations to enjoy if something is not done about it now. This problem has been going on for hundreds of years. There are animals and plants that can only been seen in paintings or early photography. It is because of our early ancestors that we have this problem today and we have to do more to prevent more animals and plants from disappearing forever.
... our way when we are trying to do something such as deforestations. We should respect living creatures in our world because they have a life they should enjoy. People never want to see the dark side of an industry which is why society doesn’t seem to care or be informed. What this reminds me of personally is the show Scooby Doo which is about monsters and teenagers investigating them, trying to figure out what it is and at the end of every show it’s always a human which gives a powerful message because at the end of the day humans are the monsters, are we the monsters today? We need to open our eyes before it's too late. Life is valuable and we need to cherish every moment.
In the world where people live in is an enormous responsibility but also the greatest gift that people need to cherish and protect. The human race needs to step up and voice not only their concerns, but the concerns of all the animals endangered or not. Any species which fall into the categories vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered are considered to be at risk of extinction. {Robert Redford} said “I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security defense of our resource’s because it’s just as important as defense abroad otherwise what is there to defend?”
One of the big causes of extinction or the endangerment of species is foreign species entering a habitat. This species that are not native to the land can disrupt the food web in that community. These species take control of the food web and endanger some of the other species. The native species become endangered and over the course of many years they either adapt to their new way or life, the foreign predator leaves or is killed off due to the different environment, or the species is killed off and becomes extinct. Organizations like the “World Wild Li...
Everyone’s all seen those wildlife shows on tv. The shows on National Geographic and such, showing animals in beautiful environments, everything lush and growing and nothing at all wrong that could threaten these creatures and places. But, have anyone seen the other side? The side where all these beautiful creatures and plants starve, are decimated by predators that have never been there before, and sometime even become poisoned by their very own homes and habitats? Of course no one has. That doesn’t mean that its not happening. It is happening, and its happening everywhere. And guess who is to blame? People. Society. Humans as a race pollute the environment, hunt animals simply for their parts, fish way more than humans will ever need just for the sake of money, introduce new species to new places for our own gain, and even purposefully destroy entire regions just for human expansion. And its starting to take its toll. While it is true that nature is constantly in flux and certain species come and go, humans are causing more species to disappear in the past few hundred years then nature has ever caused since the age of the dinosaurs, and therefore it is up to humans to repair the damage caused, be it cleaning the environment and habitats of these creatures, or taking more direct action to protect and preserve the species that are on the brink of extinction.