Behavioral ecology

Americans find exotic pets highly intriguing and nearly 1000 million americans own a pets not native to our country. However bring new species to a area put another in danger. For example on some of the Hawaiian islands you are lucky to hear a bird chirp. Since invasive species continue wiping out animals it poses a big threat on there food chain. Invasive species are a big problem and are being addressed. What would it be like if you were to go outside and find a Burmese Python in your yard.…

1) After looking at the graphs in Figures 3 and 4, it is obvious that killer whales are the cause behind the deaths of a large amount of sea otters. Despite the data for Figure 3 showing all sea otter the researchers encountered, while the data for Figure 4 showing sea otters with radio tags, both figures still show a drastic decrease in sea otter population with the only main difference between Kulak Bay and Clam Lagoon being the ease of access that killer whales have to the areas. The…

The fisheries sector as part of the oceans sector plays a large part in Nova Scotia's economy. The direct GDP impact of the ocean sector in the Nova Scotia economy is estimated at $2.62 billion in 2001, about double the 1996 impact measured at $1.37 billion. This direct impact accounts for about 10% of total Nova Scotia GDP (Gardner, Fraser, Milloy, Frost, 2005). However, it is important to remember for such a large industry, a large amount of waste is produced as well. Currently in Nova Scotia,…

The world's population is estimated to reach nine billion by 2050 with more food and agricultural water needed to feed the growing population. In addition to change in food and water demand, climate change and change in biofuel demand represent major risks for long-term food security. As the pressure on land and water resources intensifies, managing the available resources and feeding the growing world population seems challenging and has to be addressed. My life goal is to become an expert in…

In each ecosystem there are habitats that vary in size depending on the species of population in size. A healthy ecosystem consists of balance between biotic factors and abiotic factors, also known as “non-living” factors which may include and it’s not limited to sunlight, temperature, precipitation, soil, and etc. These abiotic factors help aid the flow of energy among the abiotic factors. The biotic factors which includes “Living Factors”, may include soil, animals, plants, bacteria, and also…

Sea otters spend most their time in the water. Sea otters often float on the surface of the water on their backs. Sea otters eat up to 35% of their weight in fish, crabs, sea urchins, and lobster. Sea otters eat so much that they caused the fish population to decrease significantly. If sea otters were to go extinct then there would be major effects on the ecosystem. Sea otters eat a variety of things, but a big part of their diet is sea urchins. Sea urchins eat plants. If sea otters went extinct…

Within the past several decades, the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha has made its way to the top of the list as one of the most destructive invasive species in the North American water systems. While many studies have been made focusing on the ecological impact of zebra mussels, little is known about the geographical history of their invasions and patterns of genetic differentiation among and within populations in their native and invaded ranges (May, Gelembiuk, Panov, Orlova, & Lee, 2006).…

Is Hunting Good or Bad for the Environment? Did you know there are 1.23 million car to deer collisions each year in the United States? That brings up the question of; is hunting good or bad for the environment. By examining statistics of the deer population, diseased deer, and where the money comes from to improve animal habitats, it's clear that hunting deer is good for the environment. Looking at the deer population, millions of deer are shot each year by hunters. Sick deer need to be removed…

The Tehama County Resource Conservation District pledged with the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) and Aerial Information Systems (AIS) to create a fine scale, spatially and floristically, exact vegetation chart of the Lassen Foothills venture region. This zone includes a 108,400 section of land allotment of eastern Tehama County and spreads three substantial packages: South Denny Ranch, Tehama Wildlife Area, and Dye Creek Preserve. The undertaking zone speaks to an organically different…

Sea Otters are a very well known example of a keystone predator and often utilized by textbooks to illustrate the concept. Sea Otters “Enhydra Lutris” are involved in maintaining the population of macrobenthic grazers such as sea urchins “Strongylocentrotus polyacanthus” and mussels. Sea urchins and mussels are the dominant species in these shallow water benthic ecosystems. Left unchecked, the sea urchins overgraze the benthic vegetation and the kelp forests. Kelp forests provide habitat for…