Losing diversity = losing life

Mirza · Feb 17, 2007

I don't think too many people understand the concept of biodiversity - let alone how important it is. It's simply an evolutionary requirement, or else life as we know it today would not exist on Earth. As an example from popular culture - take the World of Wars movie/classic. The only reason the aliens were stopped were due to microbes. Homogenous populations, in terms of an ecosystem, will always fail. This is why we have so many birds, insects... so many species.

Entire marine ecosystems have been wiped out, devastating populations of sea birds and larger marine mammals.

These "dead zones" occur where there are disturbances to the nutrient-rich ocean currents, which are driven by coastal winds.

Extreme marine suffocations have occurred off the west coast of the US every year for the last five years.

The most intense event, which left the ocean floor littered with the carcasses of crabs, happened in 2006.

It was unlike anything that we've measured along the Oregon coast in the past five decades," said Dr Francis Chan, of Oregon State University.[/b]
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Plant bloom

The common factor between all of the areas is that marine currents off the coast rise from the deep ocean.

These upwelling zones bring nutrient-rich water up from the deep, triggering plankton blooms that underpin the coastal food chain. Nearly 50% of the world's fisheries are in these areas.

The currents are driven by winds that move surface water away from the coast, drawing more up from the deep.

But now, observations along the west coast of the US suggest that the upwelling is being disrupted, changing its timing and intensity.[/b]
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Huge graveyard

An even more catastrophic event occurred in 2006 when the amount of upwelling doubled, leading to a huge influx of nutrients and a supercharged plankton bloom.

When these sank to the ocean floor they stripped the water column of oxygen, creating a 3,000 sq km (1,150 sq miles) dead zone, where creatures unable to swim away suffocated en masse.

Dr Francis Chan used underwater cameras to survey the area two months after the event.

"We were shocked to see a graveyard," he said. "Frame after frame of carcass, carcass, carcass."

Crabs, worms and sea stars all perished in the anoxic water.

The event was so severe that the researchers fear that marine life cannot return to the area.

"In previous years, fish that have escaped the low-oxygen area appear to have returned once the oxygen was renewed," said Dr Jane Lunchenco, of Oregon State University.

"This year may be different, however, because unlike earlier years, the living habitat was also suffocated."[/b]
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And most importantly:

Uncertain future

The researchers believe the cause of these events was changes in the intensity of the coastal winds, perhaps brought about by global warming.

"What we know from the climate change models is that the land will warm more than the sea," Jack Barth, of Oregon State University, told the BBC News website.

It is this difference in temperature and pressure that drives the winds.

"As you intensify that gradient - that will drive the stronger winds."

To confirm this link to climate change, the researchers say they need another 10 to 15 years of data.[/b]
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F8L · Feb 17, 2007

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mirza @ Feb 17 2007, 07:54 AM) [snapback]392002[/snapback]</div>

I don't think too many people understand the concept of biodiversity - let alone how important it is. It's simply an evolutionary requirement, or else life as we know it today would not exist on Earth. As an example from popular culture - take the World of Wars movie/classic. The only reason the aliens were stopped were due to microbes. Homogenous populations, in terms of an ecosystem, will always fail. This is why we have so many birds, insects... so many species.
And most importantly:
[/b]
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I think a lot (not nearly enough though) of people have an idea of why WE think biodiversity is important but they will downplay extinction by saying "things go extinct all the time" or "new species are always beig found". What they fail to acknowledge is the rates at which bioviversity is lost and how long it takes for speciation to occur. Then you have the completely ignorant which make up by far the largest portion of the population, who do no realize the importance of any species or their direct and indirect connection to our existance. This is what David Orr proposed in his essay, "What is education for?"

Finally, I propose that you set a goal of ecological literacy for all of your students. No student should graduate from this or any other educational institution without a basic comprehension of:

the laws of thermodynamics

the basic principles of ecology

carrying capacity

energetics

least-cost, end-use analysis

how to live well in a place

limits of technology

appropriate scale

sustainable agriculture and forestry

steady-state economics

environmental ethics

Do graduates of this college, in Aldo Leopold's words, know that "they are only cogs in an ecological mechanism such that, if they will work with that mechanism, their mental wealth and material wealth can expand indefinitely (and) if they refuse to work with it, it will ultimately grind them to dust." Leopold asked: "If education does not teach us these things, then what is education for?"

SSimon · Feb 19, 2007

Then you have the completely ignorant which make up by far the largest portion of the population, who do no realize the importance of any species or their direct and indirect connection to our existance. This is what David Orr proposed in his essay, "What is education for?"

Finally, I propose that you set a goal of ecological literacy for all of your students. No student should graduate from this or any other educational institution without a basic comprehension of:.........

Addressing the first paragraph, this thinking has been witnessed in other threads. One person (and I don't believe they were kidding around) said something to the tune of "what does it matter if the earth continues to warm, we have air conditioning".

And, yes, I do believe that all children should be educated within our school systems about the environment. I wouldn't normally think that it should be a part of our traditional education system, but with our continued rising population explosions our children should be educated about the limitations to our natural resources in order to suggest both conservation and stewardship of same. They're probably not learning it from their parents. At least not in this country.
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Schmika · Feb 20, 2007

Mirza, you are a perfect example of my belief that everyone can find a common ground with everyone else. I agree with you on this issue (Though I didn't always)

We should make every effort to maintain species we can. I am against all this "anti-bacterial" everything for the same reason. We refuse to buy anti-bacterial soaps and hate all these anti-bacterial coated toys for kids.

tripp · Feb 20, 2007

Agreed. The AB stuff just seems to weaken immune systems. Some exposure is a good thing. People need to accept that they can't control (and shouldn't try) every aspect of their lives.

SSimon · Feb 21, 2007

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tripp @ Feb 20 2007, 12:51 PM) [snapback]393318[/snapback]</div>

Agreed. The AB stuff just seems to weaken immune systems. Some exposure is a good thing. People need to accept that they can't control (and shouldn't try) every aspect of their lives.
[/b]
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Yeah, isn't it better to build a germ library than to try to protect yourself from the inevitable all the while helping bacteria evolve into superbeings by using that crap? I almost want to contract West Nile now while I'm young and can hopefully defeat it than have to worry about contracting it when I'm older and may be less able to fight it off.

Losing diversity = losing life

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Losing diversity = losing life

Mirza New Member

F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

SSimon Active Member

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tripp Which it's a 'ybrid, ain't it?

SSimon Active Member