Aquatic ecology

The purpose of this book report is to examine Jared Diamond’s international bestseller Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive. The book is captured in four parts where the author uses both personal experience and impeccable research to describe past and modern society with similar environment and resources. According to Diamond, there are eight categories where past societies have undermined themselves by damaging their environment: deforestation and habitat destruction, soil problems…

Sustainability presumes that resources are finite, and should be used conservatively and wisely with a view to long-term priorities and consequences of the ways in which resources are used. Acharacle Primary School delivers a clear message of ‘Ecominialism’, which means the use of careful design to achieve sustainable construction, without spending extra cost, energy and maintenance (Liddell, H., 2008). Using Brettstapel construction, which is a glueless form of massive timber construction that…

Prior to this assignment, I was not familiar with the Buffett Awards. However, after conducting this assignment I regard this award to be one of the most important conservation awards, as it empowers local conservationists that receive ill attention. Overall, I found the Buffett Award assignment to be very challenging, in a positive way, and inspiring. From both regions, all previous Buffett Award winners had achievements that deserved significant recognition even among the most well known…

refute the residents’ concerns regarding the recent plans to develop a shopping complex bordering the Wolverine Nature Preserve. My intention is not to discuss my own views on this matter, but rather state facts drawn from my expertise in the field of ecology. Although I will not be responding to the assertions made by the Chamber of Commerce, who sees and values this plan as an economical investment, I feel obligated to express the need for there to be biological proof supporting such claims. I…

The reasons for the Barn owls decline are not fully understood, but can most likely be attributed to the loss of suitable habitat due to various aspects of agricultural intensification and the increased use of harmful second generation anti-coagulant rodenticides. Other factors that have been implicated in their decline are the loss of suitable nest sites, an expansion of major road networks and the increased severity of winters. The Barn Owl is also in decline while the Corncrake is no longer…

Diversity Lab Write-Up Introduction: Biodiversity is the measure of the variety of the organisms in an ecosystem. This variety can be between species, within species, and between ecosystems, but in this lab, only the variety between species will be discussed to quantify the biodiversity of the target ecosystem. Biodiversity can be quantified by two main aspects which are species richness, and species eveness. Species richness is the number of species observed per sample of an ecosystem, and if…

At the end of the day, the environment is all we have, because without it we wouldn’t be here. It is crucial for people to acknowledge this and treat their land properly. The first principle of the earth charter discusses why you must respect the earth, and life in all of its diversity. It states that you must” Recognize that all beings are interdependent and every form of life has value regardless of its worth to human beings.” I believe Tobias was a man who lived his life with standards like…

The Euwallacea was studied before, but observers were incorrect in identifying the species as the tea shot-hole borer (TSHB) E. fornaticus; but after further analysis, the species was renamed to the polyphagous shot-hole borer [4]. This newly named “polyphagous” shot hole borer—named polyphagous because of its ability to attack many different trees—has caused significant amounts of dieback and mortality of avocado trees [5]. As time passes, the PSHB infestation problem grows more urgent. The…

Taking a sustainable vacation is challenging. If you want your destination to encompass ecotourism principles and be environmentally responsible, you will want to find experiences that involve the local community. For example, an African wilderness experience should involve local guides who have a stake in protecting the biodiversity and the natural environment. Africa, especially South Africa and Botswana, are popular destinations because both counties have opportunities to experience the…

Biodiversity is a very important part to the ecosystem. It is defined as “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.” There is more evidence pilling up that it is being lost at all scales. This is a complex system that is not only important to a healthy environment globally and…