Thursday, May 9, 2013

Humans Environmental Impact

A five year study by scientists at the University of Calgary has given evidence to suggest that humans are having a much bigger environmental impact than previously believed. The study monitored activity of four animals: wolves, elk, cattle, and humans. The study was intended to help settle a debate about whether ecosystems are regulated by their predators (top-down) or producers (bottom-up). The results of the study showed humans to have a major impact both top-down and bottom-up. As predators, we regulated the amount of cattle and elk by eating them. We also took away vast portions of land used by these two animals to feed. This decline in the amount of land available had a greater impact on the ecosystem than expected and the change in population of these two animals also resulted in the change of wolf population, along with other populations in the ecosystem.



Themes

  • science is collaborative
  • science is based on evidence
  • science is subject to debate and tentative
  • role of credibility
  • role of motivation

Article
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130508172149.htm
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 9, 2013 at 9:16 PM

    It is amazing how big of an impact we as humans can have on an ecosystem. Even if we only directly impact one species the ripple effect will change so much more. this is why conservation and awareness about the environment is so important.

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  2. AnonymousMay 9, 2013 at 9:48 PM

    I think it's horrible how we are impacting the environment in such a negative way and nobody minds enough to care or move one finger about it.
    Today in the news they showed pictures taken from a satellite of the world over 29 years and it showed clearly how the Amazonian rain forest was starting to disapear because we are chopping it down, huge immense lots are being chopped down, and that forest is our planet's lungs basically we should work the hardest to conserve it. Without that forest, without these animals this article talks about there will be immense repercussions in our planets because everything in earth is interconnected what affects one species affects us all.

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