Preventing Extinction and World Change

1188 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: mass extinction and its consequences

Thirteen years ago, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Of two potential locations considered (Snowflake Springs and Butte Rock) they were placed in the low-risk prey Butte Rock for the purpose of encouraging the wolves to spread out and create packs. Before and during the reintroduction project, Oregon State University researchers measured the rate of willow growth along 2.6 miles of the Gallatin River, which ran through Butte Rock and Snowflake Springs. During their study from 1998 to 2002, the researchers discovered that Snowflake Springs, where the elk were and no wolves lived, the willow growth dropped from 92% to nothing (“How Wolves Help Willows,” 4).

What was going on? Where there were no wolves and the elk had free reign of the land, they ate away the plants before said plants had a chance to mature and release more seeds to keep the cycle going. When extinction occurs, we’re not just losing the endangered species. We’re also potentially losing every species from animal to plant that is connected to it. This is what makes extinction the most pressing environmental issue that we face today.

Extinction itself has been going on since there were living things to go extinct; it has been part of Earth’s history from the very beginning, starting from the Cambrian extinction that extinguished 92% of all life on Earth, through the more recent Mesozoic extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs, and finally the pre-Cenozoic extinction that occurred at the end of the last Ice Age. Our planet has lost millions of unique species that will never be seen (outside of the imagination of artists and film special effects specialists) again. Extinction is a normal part of the natural world, and the Earth regularly purges pr...

... middle of paper ...

...tes, a unique vegetable variety every six hours, and an entire language every two weeks. Pieces of our own culture, of the very essence of humanity, are disappearing along with the animals and plants that used to dominate this world. (Glavin 3)

Extinction is no longer just a natural process. It is an enemy, slowly changing our world into a barren wasteland where life is as rare as a flower in the Arctic Circle's winter. The wolf, the tiger, the caribou, the elephant, the bison, the cheetah, the sequoia cactus, the redwood tree – all of these and so many more things are on the verge of disappearing from our planet forever. Extinction is the most pressing environmental issue of our time, because if it continues the way it is going without anything being done to counteract its causes and consequences, there will soon be no environment left for there to be debates about.

Show More
Related

  • Reintroduction and extirpation of the Gray wolf

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this research paper, I will address the changes that occurred within the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park since the reintroduction of the grey wolves. The paper will consist of four sections; the first section will include the history behind the extirpation and subsequent reintroduction of the gray wolf in Northern America. The second section will explore the political controversy that surrounds the reintroduction of the gray wolf in Yellowstone. The third section will contain discuss the gray wolf and its impact on the ecosystem of Yellowstone. I will conclude my essay by explaining how the gray wolves act as climate change buffers in Yellowstone amidst global warming.

    Read More

  • Reintroducing Wolves to Yellowstone and Idaho

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wolves are a natural mean of controlling the number of deer, elk, and other large game in an environment. The larger populations of herbivores are a problem for farmers and ranchers. The herd's winter grounds could be the same ranchers use for their cattle. In 1983 the case of Allen Nelson, a rancher in Montana, came to the attention of the Forest Service. Nelson owned land about twenty miles north of Yellowstone National Park. During the winter, elk would eat the grass on his land that he needed to feed his cattle. After Nelson's efforts to persuade the National Park Service elk were migrating form Yellowstone National Park failed he turned to the Forest Service. The Forest Service owned land next Nelson and did not want the degradation of the grass in the forest. Partnering with the State of Montana, Nelson and the Forest Service placed radio collars on a dozen elk. After tracking the elk through the next ...

    Read More

  • The Reintroduction of the Gray Wolf to Yellowstone

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gauss’ Law states that no two organisms can occupy the same ecological niche without excluding the other, but what happens when man gets involved with nature and tries to introduce a species where it doesn’t belong which in turn provides a second organism to fill the same niche as the first? The results of human intervention have often been disastrous for the organism that we’re supposedly helping. Humans often times do not understand the complexity of the implications that are caused directly through our intervention. In 1974, the gray wolf was listed on the Endangered Species List, and in an effort to reestablish their populations, wolves were re-introduced into Yellowstone National Park, affecting Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho (Wyoming Wolf Management Plan, 2003). Between 1995 and 1996 thirty one wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone and thirty five wolves into central Idaho. The wolf numbers exploded, leaving these western states with the problem of what to do with these wolves to prevent them from exceeding their carrying capacity and where to go from here.

    Read More

  • Reintroducing the Wolf to Yellowstone

    4205 Words  | 9 Pages

    Wolves have always been a symbol of the wild, free in spirit and roamers of the land. These animals are considered majestic and protectors of the wilderness. They have always roamed the western United States, although their population has fluctuated over time. Over the past 10 years wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone National Park has been a controversial topic to those of the United States. As of 1995, wolves have been reintroduced into the park. This has come with some strong opposition and yet has prevailed. The future of the wolf in Yellowstone park is now looking bright, although not certain since there still are those who want them banished again.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Deer Hunting

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the last decade, from the Rockies to New England and the Deep South, rural and suburban areas have been beset by white-tailed deer gnawing shrubbery and crops, spreading disease and causing hundreds of thousands of auto wrecks. But the deer problem has proved even more profound, biologists say. Fast-multiplying herds are altering the ecology of forests, stripping them of native vegetation and eliminating niches for other wildlife. ' 'I don 't want to paint deer as Eastern devils, ' ' said Dr. McShea, a wildlife biologist associated with the National Zoo in Washington, ' 'but this is indicative of what happens when an ecosystem is out of whack. ' ' The damage is worse than anyone expected, he and other scientists say. Higher deer densities have affected growth, survival, and reproduction of many plant species which have aesthetic, economic or ecological value. In some cases, many species of trees have also been shown to have reduced growth as a result of high deer density (Environmental Benefits of Hunting, 1). Deer prefer certain plant species over others and frequently feed on economically valuable tree species. For example, they prefer oak and sugar maple seedlings, as well as acorns, over less palatable species like American Beech and striped maple. Thus, less marketable species are more likely to survive to maturity,

    Read More

  • Themes In The Sixth Extinction By Elizabeth Kolbert

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    On a day to day basis, most people take for granted the lives we get to live, and put too much value on the extra things such as materialistic items. Also, the majority of humans are too invested in their personal lives or with themselves that they do not look at the big picture of how what we are doing now will effect us later. As humans, the routines in our lives can bring us harm, and within time a we may become the sixth extinction. In “The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert, she gives many examples of animals that are or may become extinct. Along with ways humans contribute to the effort of putting them in danger or having them become extinct. In the end having a summary of how this all comes together and impacts us humans in more

    Read More

  • The Permian Triassic Mass Extinction

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    The eradication of species numbers average at a toll close to one hundred percent of earths total living creatures. “It is the Earth's most severe known extinction event, with up to 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species becoming extinct” (Sahney, and Benton 759). Not only where marine and terrestrial species effected but this catastrophic event is the only recogni...

    Read More

  • The Vulnerability of Islands to Animal Extinction

    2270 Words  | 5 Pages

    Purvis, A., E., J. K., & Mace, G. M. (2000). Extinction. In BioEssays (pp. 1123-1133).

    Read More

  • Whitty And Corwin Analysis

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    By definition, the word extinction means the state or process of a species, family, or larger group being or becoming extinct. This is a process that although occurs naturally, can be affected by humanity and can leave negative effects on the ecosystem and the world live in now and today. Several people step up to lead the fight to protect endangered species all the time, people have several ways of getting others to awake to the sincerity of the situation. One way this is done is of course by written word, Author Julia Whitty and Biologist Jeff Corwin both show their interests in protecting wildlife and preserving animals at risk of extinction in their own ways. Although their approaches to how they convince the people to stand alongside them

    Read More

  • Grey Wolf Reintroduction

    195 Words  | 1 Pages

    Grey wolves were removed from USA’s Yellowstone National Park in 1926. A big impact of removing wolves were how the Aspen trees were slowly disappearing.After the wolves were gone beavers were scarce in the northern range, numbers of songbirds and habitats were reduced. The elk population skyrockets because the bears and the coyotes were left to hunt the elk but they do not kill as many elks as the wolves did. When the reintroduction of the wolves in 1995 there was a drastic difference in the landscape.

    Read More

  • Should the Wolves Stay in Yellowstone National Park?

    1822 Words  | 4 Pages

    National Parks are the cornerstone of every country because it preserves the rich cultural and natural resources of a nation, such as Yellowstone in the United States of America. Yellowstone National Park is the World’s First National Park which brings millions of attraction each year, it is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combine and have over a thousand species of plants and animal (Yellowstone Media). However, a very important type of species has been missing in Yellowstone National Park for a very long time. Wolves, which got reintroduce back into Yellowstone National Park, should stay there because without them the ecosystem would be out of balance.

    Read More

  • What Is The Importance Of Wolves Essay

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    Studies show that wolves play a significant role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, and could even help stave off some of the effects of climate change. They help keep large animal herd populations in check, which can benefit numerous other plan...

    Read More

  • Endangered Species

    2010 Words  | 5 Pages

    Humans are destructive. Not a lot of us think about how what we do affects the world around us. We almost act like we are the only ones on this planet. We go around polluting and destroying our world with no regard for our actions. The things that live out in the wild are paying the price for it. Every day that passes there is another animal or plant that is placed on an endangered list. This is happening at an alarming rate. Because of man’s desire to expand and conquer their surroundings, there are animals and plants that are on the brink of extinction that will not be around for our kids and future generations to enjoy if something is not done about it now. This problem has been going on for hundreds of years. There are animals and plants that can only been seen in paintings or early photography. It is because of our early ancestors that we have this problem today and we have to do more to prevent more animals and plants from disappearing forever.

    Read More

  • Biodiversity Loss and Extinction

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    Biodiversity loss can lead to extinction, and hurt human life. It is our responsibility to take care of the environment. We bring in machines that harm the environment and destroy animal life. We need to limit ourselves on how much land and resources we consume. There are major issues that are causing species to become extinct and hurt our way of life and other animals do to the change in food chain.

    Read More

  • The Degradation of Ecosystems and Loss of Biodiversity

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shah, Anup. Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions. Global Issues, 19 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 May 2014.

    Read More

More about Preventing Extinction and World Change

Open Document