The lecturer and the reading passage offer two theories to explain why the sea otter population is in rapid decline. The two theories are predation theory and pollution theory.
The professor argues predation is the more likely cause than pollution because of the absence of dead sea otters washing up on shores. However, the reading passage attributes the decline of the sea otters population based on evidence of increased ocean contaminates leading to greater vulnerability to infections.
Also, the lecturer argues that orcas are likely factors in the population decline of the sea otters because of the scarcity of their usual prepay. This left them with no other option but to hunt smaller mammals for food. The reading passage refutes this theory
Whale, Whale, Whale, what do we have here? Are Orcas being tortured? Let's find out! I think Sea World should eliminate the orca breeding program. I think Sea World should eliminate the orca breeding program because it causes Orcas to live shorter lives and hurt themselves.
Likewise, compared to those diets enjoyed by groups in northern California and the Pacific Northwest as far back as 4000 B.C., which were rich with nutritious stock like fish and shellfish, the game-hunting in the east was less reliable. While at first the big animals of the continent were bountiful to the newfound populations they had not yet learned to fear, their numbers quickly dwindled during the “Pleistocene overkill” (Page, 36). One area whose populations did not suffer from the absence of these large mammals was the Pacific coast, an observation that is notable despite the real absence of what were likely some of the most informational sites that archaeologists could have hoped to
He accredited the extinction of these extraordinary animals to the “…combination of climatic change and the spread of highly skilled hunters,” (Taylor 8). The natives did not know how their excessive hunting would have such an effect - they just did what they had to do to survive.
“Someday, when I am long gone, animal and plant life on Isle Royale may be so changed that wisdom will call for a different approach. But this time around, at the dawn of a new millennium, I must vote for the wolves.” (pg. 188). This statement is the final paragraph in the book “Wolves of Isle Royale: A Broken Balance” by Rolf O. Peterson. In order to understand the context of the quote by Peterson, it is crucial to understand the different aspects of Isle Royale.
In specific, Hibbard’s argument regarding the inability of Galapagos tortoises, modern relatives of giant tortoises that went extinct, to survive harsh condition provided a counter argument. To elaborate, if Martin’s theory was correct then Hibbard argues that Giant tortoises would have been able to survive harsh weather conditions, eventually falling victim to human predation. Yet his study demonstrates that future descendants of the Giant tortoises died upon immediate exposure to cold weather, thereby attributing climate change as the cause of their extinction; invalidating Martin’s
This also shows how hunting doesn’t just cause extinction, but also makes an area less protective. The protaganists made sure that people such as Drake McBride and Jimmy Lee Bayless should always be avoided in the wilderness. Even though some of the animals are dangerous, they taught us that anyone should have some type of shelter no matter what the cause
“If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man. All things are connected.” The Hawaiian monk seal is the nation’s most endangered seal, and one of the world’s most endangered marine mammal. With enough resources scientists can make progress toward achieving and to help maintain a healthy population of these endangered monk seals, but it will not be easy. Preventing interactions between people and seals is a responsibility is something these organizations are going to have to manage.
Today otters face other threats. Apart from disease epidemics, otters continue to be threatened by overharvest, interactions with fisheries (e.g. gear entanglements), oil spills and being prey to killer
In a way they are correct however, the wolves started the growth of the ecosystem again. More birds began to come because the terrain regained strength causing trees to be healthy and stronger. The birds made habitats there causing hawks and other prey to come due to the increase of birds. Beavers began to build dens in the rivers again which also provided a home for amphibians, otters, and other animals. The circle of life began to blossom again and it all started with the wolves contribution to the ecosystem.
At the bottom of Naple Island Gazette’s front page, I saw the headline: Manatee Habitat Threatened by Local Development. The article explained that a new housing development was planned for an area along the Okee River. Many of the properties would have docks in the river so owners could park their boats and have easy access out into the bay. I knew that the Okee River was the best place locally to spot manatees. They loved floating in the warm water and munching the thick sea grasses that cover the river bottom.
There is always a new bandwagon for false activists, and one of the most popular is the cause of freeing captured killer whales. For some, this is not just the latest fad, but it has been a life long devotion which has been the focus of their passion since the mid twentieth century. These creature are majestic and need to be protected. They were named after this frightening figure because of their brutal reputation in the wild. In Latin, the word Orca can literally be translated to barrel-shaped, thus referring to the large and cylindrical shape of the killer whale 's body.
Journalist Ashley Pierce observed that, in the wild, male orcas live to an average of sixty-five years while females live an average of ninety years. The natural environment creates more than double the lifespan faced in captivity (Pierce 1). Orcas live a shortened lifespan in captivity because the whales can not handle the lack of space given. Over a period of the orcas’ life in confinement, results in the bodies shutting down more and more every day. The Beacham 's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America, expresses that, orcas venture throughout the Pacific Ocean within the whales lifespan (Killer Whale 1).
Decline in Sea Otter Population During the pacific maritime fur trade in 1969, sea otters were hunted until they were almost extinct. After that incident, sea otter hunting was prohibited by international treaty in 1911, because of this a dozen remnant colonies survived. While the North Pacific Ocean recovered at rates of 17-20% in the first year, the population in California hasn’t grown at more than one-third of that rate and they are currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Even though the sea otter population in California is declining, the geographic range of the population is expanding to the north as well as the south and its brought sea otters in the south closer to the potential effects of oil and gas development,
Sadly, many Americans believe that losing the wolves would not be a bad thing for the prey’s sake, but in all reality losing the wolves would be devastating. One major thing that is present in all ecosystems, the place in which animals live, is a trophic cascade. A trophic cascade is explained in the essay as a “sequence of impacts down the food chain” (578). Hannibal gives the reader this example: “…In Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park … wolves were virtually wiped out in the 1920’s and reintroduced in the ‘90s. Since the wolves have come back, scientists have noted an unexpected improvement in many of the park’s degraded stream areas”
Poaching and illegal hunting can cause an off set in the ecosystem by overhunting animals. When one animal population decline drastically, other organisms are affected too. The decline in native predators is the main cause for overpopulation of animals like deer. Deer overpopulation has led to rapid decrease vegetation life causing other animals to be put at risk. Removing predators from the food web disrupts the entire balance of an