Endangered Species Concervation (Biology Blog 8)

Kenya Leopard:
     Kenya Leopards are a medium-sized cat that grow to be about six feet long. These cats are able to adapt to almost any habitat but prefer rocky surroundings or areas around water. The Kenya Leopard is going extinct because of humans hunting them.

Puerto Rican Boa:
     The Puerto Rican Boa is a snake that can grow to be six and a half feet long. The snake is found in Puerto Rico and prefers a moist, dark, and damp rain forest for a habitat. The Puerto Rican Boa is going extinct because of humans hunting them, although it is illegal to do so.

Columbian White Tailed Deer:
     The Columbian White Tailed Deer is a large type of deer that can be found at the lower parts of the Columbian River- where it got it's name. These deer serve as a food source for many creatures, but their main predator is humans. Humans frequently hunt this deer.

Hawaiian Munk Seal:
     The Hawaiian Munk Seal can be found in the uninhabited, northeaster islands of Hawaii. There are only about 1,200 of this species left, due to a great loss of the species many years ago. The population of this species is still declining because of a lack of food source, getting caught in fishing nets, and humans.

Red Wolf:
     The Red Wolf is the most endangered species in the world; it has a population of only 200. The Red Wolf's habitat is a forest or any agricultural area. Due to deforestation, humans are causing the Red Wolf to go extinct.

All of the above species are extremely important to our earth. These creatures all play vital roles in the environment, whether it be as predator or prey. We should be taking measures to protect these animals. We could "adopt" one of these creatures or take measures to protect our environment to ensure the safety of these animals. It is very important that these animals do not become extinct, and we should all do our part to save them.

Food For Thought (Biology Blog 7)

     In an activity performed two days ago in class, we saw about how much food and people each continent has. Each continent had representatives to show about how much the population was, and these representatives were given food for their continent. North America was given the most food...displaying the fact that North Americans produce more food than any other continent; despite the fact that North America had one of the fewest representatives.. Every other continent had a significantly lower amount of food but typically more representatives. This suprised me. I knew that North America produced a lot of food, but I didn't realize just how much food..and how much more food than everyone else. Asia, for example, had the most representatives, but one of the lowest amount of food. This led me to believe that we are very blessed to live in North America. We typically do not have to worry about having food...and that is a very big blessing. This activity changed the way I thought about North America, and the other continents.

Controlling Population Growth (Biology Blog 6)

     With worldwide population growth exceeding at the rate it is, a problem is beginning to form. The problem is that we are about to reach our carrying capacity. The earth's resources can only sustain us for so long. There are few solutions to this problem. The solutions that there are, are generally not preferable. One solution to slow down population growth would be to put a limit on how many children each couple can have. Some countries have already begun to do this...China, for example. Another solution would be to raise the cost of living. As stated above, this solution would not be preferable...but it would help with the growing population rate. A last solution would be to open up more opertunities for women to control their fertility. This, however, many would not agree with...but it is, in fact, a solution. When/if earth's carrying capacity is reached, there will not be a positive outcome. A loss of resources would be one thing; we would run out of food and/or water. Another thing would be over-crowding; there would not be room for all of earth's people. A last thing would be a loss of oxygen. If/when earth reaches it's carrying capacity our resources would be destroyed, which would result in a loss of many things...including oxygen. Hopefully there will be a solution discovered for this growing problem.

The World with It's Hunters and Huntees

     In a short story read in my English class, "The Most Dangerous Game", a character made an important statement. "The world is made up of two classes- the hunters and the huntees" said Rainsford in the story. I agree with his statement. I believe that the world is made up of hunters and huntees. The world contains people (the hunters) that are always trying to bring other people down. These people bully other people; their goal is to "hunt" or bring down those around them. The world also contains people (the huntees) that are being hunted. These are the people that have other people trying to bring them down. These people are affected by bullies, or by individuals striving to "hunt" them down and cause them pain. I think that everyone is either a hunter or a huntee. Everyone has either been a bully to someone else, or been bullied by someone. We are all affected by other people and need to remember that our actions affect others as well.