http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/science/earth/14turtles.html?_r=1&ref=earth
PLAYA GRANDE, Costa Rica — This resort town was long known for Leatherback Sea Turtle National Park, nightly turtle beach tours and even a sea turtle museum. So Kaja Michelson, a Swedish tourist, arrived with high expectations. “Of course we’re hoping to see turtles — that is part of the appeal,” she said.
Leatherback turtles have slowly been having their population decrease due to a few climatic factors such as global warming and higher seas. The biggest factor here is that the rise in temperature is a huge problem. Turtles are not genetically given their sex, but their sex depends on the temperature. The high temperature will give the turtle population more females which is an obvious problem. The turtles can be considered an indicator species in this case as well because they need the climate in order to live their lives. What i think should be done is to have a turtle farm that can increase the amount of turtles so the population can recuperate from its near extinction numbers. The turtles have been here for many years and shouldn't have their population end because of global warming.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Current Events: November 12, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/science/earth/12scallops.html?_r=1&ref=earth
GREENPORT, N.Y. — Bone-tired but grinning, Peter Wenczel and his son Ben eased their 26-foot work boat toward the dock here one recent afternoon, its deck piled high with bags of scallops.
There is a return of the scallop population in the Peconic Bay as of late. Recently there hasn't been a bounty of scallops due to the brown tide that has been present in the water. The brown tide is a result of high nitrogen levels, which alter the environment of the scallops and kill them off. The reason for the high level of nitrogen is unknown, but now that the levels are back to normal. To me, it's a good thing that the scallops are back to where they were, but i think they should try to figure out what was wrong with the water and try to fix the problem with organic material. They could test the water to make sure that everything is alright, because the scallop population was a mega source of commerce for the eastern Long Island natives. It's a good thing that the norm is back, but environmental agencies should think about finding a way to contain the water.
GREENPORT, N.Y. — Bone-tired but grinning, Peter Wenczel and his son Ben eased their 26-foot work boat toward the dock here one recent afternoon, its deck piled high with bags of scallops.
There is a return of the scallop population in the Peconic Bay as of late. Recently there hasn't been a bounty of scallops due to the brown tide that has been present in the water. The brown tide is a result of high nitrogen levels, which alter the environment of the scallops and kill them off. The reason for the high level of nitrogen is unknown, but now that the levels are back to normal. To me, it's a good thing that the scallops are back to where they were, but i think they should try to figure out what was wrong with the water and try to fix the problem with organic material. They could test the water to make sure that everything is alright, because the scallop population was a mega source of commerce for the eastern Long Island natives. It's a good thing that the norm is back, but environmental agencies should think about finding a way to contain the water.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Current Events: November 6, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/10obwolf.html?_r=1&ref=science
The Falklands wolf has puzzled evolutionary biologists since Charles Darwin first encountered it during the voyage of the Beagle in the 1830s. It was the only native land mammal on the Falkland Islands, which are 300 miles off the coast of Argentina. No one knew how it got there or what mainland animals it was descended from — and it did not help that the wolf was hunted to extinction by 1876...
It has been recently discovered that the mysterious Falklands Wolf, which was originally thought to be native to South America, was in fact native to North American lands. Genetic research has proven that the Falklands Wolf is a relative to an South American species, but the two split off in time. What this says to me is that there are still plenty of mysteries that need to be solved. And there are plenty of creatures that have yet to be classified. The Earth is a small place in comparison to the universe. We as humans are even smaller, which only means that secrets are still hidden. We aren't going to find out everything about this planet, but we can still find out as much as we can.
The Falklands wolf has puzzled evolutionary biologists since Charles Darwin first encountered it during the voyage of the Beagle in the 1830s. It was the only native land mammal on the Falkland Islands, which are 300 miles off the coast of Argentina. No one knew how it got there or what mainland animals it was descended from — and it did not help that the wolf was hunted to extinction by 1876...
It has been recently discovered that the mysterious Falklands Wolf, which was originally thought to be native to South America, was in fact native to North American lands. Genetic research has proven that the Falklands Wolf is a relative to an South American species, but the two split off in time. What this says to me is that there are still plenty of mysteries that need to be solved. And there are plenty of creatures that have yet to be classified. The Earth is a small place in comparison to the universe. We as humans are even smaller, which only means that secrets are still hidden. We aren't going to find out everything about this planet, but we can still find out as much as we can.
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