Question

Post your original "primary post" of at least 125 words for one of the following three bulleted items. Also, reply to a fellow student on any topic.

(1) Trophic Cascades in theSerengeti. Watch Dr. Cox's video on "What Rinderpest eradication taught us about the Serengeti", which can be found in the Instructor Insights folder for this week. Then address the following questions: (a) How did eradication of Rinderpest from East Africa increase both the tree and giraffe populations in the Serengeti? (b) How did eradication of Rinderpest from East Africa increase the population of predator species in the Serengeti? (c) What does this tell us about ecosystems?

(2) Biomes. The term "biome" is described in the textbook. For this topic, describe the biome where you grew up (or where you currently live). Identify your location, the biome of the region, and describe the major characteristics of that biome. Add enough detail and commentary from your own experience, so that your answer is 125 words or more. If you're really ambitious, you could consider looking up the "ecoregion". The EPA maintains information about that.

(3) Shrinking Red Knots. Read two of the following three articles: Briggs (2016); Dussault (2016); Zimmer (2016). (A) In your own words summarize the basic story that the articles have in common. (B) Of the two articles you read, which of them do you prefer? Why?

Answer 1

Shrinking red dots

• The three articles mainly focuses on global warming and its effects on climatic change.
• The articles also state that because of climatic change , a species Called Red knots gets affected by incraese in temeparture in artic regions.
• Red Knots are birds that are known specifically for longer flight around 5000 KM without stopping.
• These birds travel from tropic regions to artic regions for breeding .
• They deposit their eggs in the snows of the artic region . The eggs hatch when the insects population in the artic regions increase.
• The insect population increases in response to the melting of the glaciers.
• Due to global warming the glaciers in the artic regions start to melt earlier and the insect population starts also starts increasing in accordance with the melting of glaciers.
• But in recent times the Red knots hatch eggs only after the glacier melts and during this time the young hatchlings cannot feed on insects as the invertebrates grew in size .
• This makes them deprived of nutrition and it impacts on the size of the bird.
• Red knots have longer beaks which dig deep inside the mud and feed for molluscs.
• Due to this nutrition depletion , the birds are smaller with smaller beaks and unable to dig mud and feed on molluscs. This makes them unable to survive.
• The smaller birds have high mortality rates compared to larger birds.
• If the trends of global warming continues , the birds will face extinction in course of time.
• Thus , these are the effects of climatic change on Red knots.

b)

• The article in Christian Moniter , by Dussalt 2016 is preffered than two other articles.
• This is because , the study discusses not only about Red knots but also describes about other species.
• It also scientifically states that smaller animals dissipate heat compared to larger animals faster and which makes unable to survive.
• The study also describes about the evolutionary changes . It states that smaller birds with longer beaks will survive compared to small birds with small beaks.
• It sets a trend to the smaller birds and states a future evolutionary prespective in these birds.
• Thus , this article is preffered.