Literary Review on White Abalone 1
A Review of Scientific Literature Regarding the Endangered White Abalone
By
Steven Tran
The white abalone, Haliotis sorenseni, is a beautiful creature that attracts divers to the mesmerizing dive sites in California (Barboza 2012). These abalones are known to inhabit the waters of the coast of California from Point Conception to as far as Punta Abreojos in Baja California and can be found in some of the deepest waters recorded for abalone in up 50 meters of water. These creatures have great longevity and can live up to 35 years (Stierhoff et al. 2012). However, the down side of it’s longevity is that the White Abalone takes much longer to mature and reproduce which makes it’s survivability as a species …show more content…
By feeding on the algae, the White Abalone helps control the density of algae. This is vital to the health of the costal waters because keeping the algae level low will prevent the algae build up from blocking off the sunlight that provides energy for oxygen creating, photosynthetic organisms on the ocean floor (Barboza 2012). The White Abalone thus serves as a regulator of the oxygen level in the ocean. Unfortunately, what was once a thriving species, these incredible animals are now considered endangered and are protected by the United State’s Endangered Species Act because they have been over harvested for their delicacy and beautiful shells (Stierhoff et al. 2012). Furthermore, White Abalone numbers are continuously decreasing because of the Withering Syndrome affects the survivability rate of juvenile White Abalones (Friedman et al. 2003). Because of these challenges, marine protection measures have …show more content…
This biological factor is an infectious disease called the withering syndrome. The withering syndrome is an epidemic that causes the muscular foot of the abalones to decay and wither away, leaving it unable to attach itself to a rock to feed, and eventually dying (Burton 2008). The withering syndrome is considered to be the major cause in the massive decline in White as well as other species of abalones such as the Black and Red Abalone (Lafferty et al. 2013). What makes this disease so potent is the fact that it’s virtually impossible to detect until the death of the abalone. Therefore, there is a push for extensive research to find a cure to this devastating
A Review of Scientific Literature Regarding the Endangered White Abalone
By
Steven Tran
The white abalone, Haliotis sorenseni, is a beautiful creature that attracts divers to the mesmerizing dive sites in California (Barboza 2012). These abalones are known to inhabit the waters of the coast of California from Point Conception to as far as Punta Abreojos in Baja California and can be found in some of the deepest waters recorded for abalone in up 50 meters of water. These creatures have great longevity and can live up to 35 years (Stierhoff et al. 2012). However, the down side of it’s longevity is that the White Abalone takes much longer to mature and reproduce which makes it’s survivability as a species …show more content…
By feeding on the algae, the White Abalone helps control the density of algae. This is vital to the health of the costal waters because keeping the algae level low will prevent the algae build up from blocking off the sunlight that provides energy for oxygen creating, photosynthetic organisms on the ocean floor (Barboza 2012). The White Abalone thus serves as a regulator of the oxygen level in the ocean. Unfortunately, what was once a thriving species, these incredible animals are now considered endangered and are protected by the United State’s Endangered Species Act because they have been over harvested for their delicacy and beautiful shells (Stierhoff et al. 2012). Furthermore, White Abalone numbers are continuously decreasing because of the Withering Syndrome affects the survivability rate of juvenile White Abalones (Friedman et al. 2003). Because of these challenges, marine protection measures have …show more content…
This biological factor is an infectious disease called the withering syndrome. The withering syndrome is an epidemic that causes the muscular foot of the abalones to decay and wither away, leaving it unable to attach itself to a rock to feed, and eventually dying (Burton 2008). The withering syndrome is considered to be the major cause in the massive decline in White as well as other species of abalones such as the Black and Red Abalone (Lafferty et al. 2013). What makes this disease so potent is the fact that it’s virtually impossible to detect until the death of the abalone. Therefore, there is a push for extensive research to find a cure to this devastating