- In your hometown, how would you characterize levels of biodiversity? What are the main sources of the biodiversity and how do you imagine this has changed over time?
My hometown is Swarthmore PA. My hometown has a fair amount of biodiversity. There are many species of birds, plants, trees, and other forest based life due to the large park/protected area in my town. There is also a large water shed in the area, meaning there is marine biodiversity was well. A major river along with things like lakes and streams are everywhere so there is bound to be plenty of biodiversity in relation to places without such an intense system of forests and water ways. I am sure that back in the day hundreds of years ago, there were many more species of trees, plants, and insects. The virgin forest map in the module shows that my area was a victim, along with the rest of the eastern US, of total loss of virgin forest. While there has clearly been replanting and forests that exist now, the biodiversity has shrunk because of the loss of all the original forest back in the day.
- Is the biodiversity increasing or decreasing? Why do you think this?
My assumption would be that biodiversity is decreasing. The main issue why is definitely invasive species that are ruining the natural, and fragile, bio-system in place. These invasive species can be fish that take over the lakes and rivers, plants/weeds to overtake natural species, or insects that take the spot in the ecosystem of others. This is because of the increasing globalization that everywhere experiences. Plants and animals that were given access to my town in the past 50 years from all over the world have drastically changed the biodiversity of Swarthmore. These plants and animals were introduced and before anyone realized it, they upset the balance that was naturally there. There are now laws and such in place to ensure that these invasive species are not newly introduced, but some damage has definitely been done.
- What could be done to further protect biodiversity? Would it be possible to increase the biodiversity of your town?
My town could do several things to protect biodiversity: increase the pollution standards is one. Some species are very delicate and sensitive and any pollution in the river for example could wipe out a species of fish or insect. The rain falling from the clouds must be as clean as possible so as to not upset the ecosystem. Also, there could be stricter laws on cutting down any tree, this would preserve the species that are present now. As for increasing biodiversity, I believe that is something that is relatively impossible. Biodiversity should be protected not forced. By introducing new species or old ones that are now gone, there is a large risk of further upsetting the balance and in fact hurting biodiversity more than helping.
Hi James, my name is Devin, here is a link to my blog: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/12/module-10-2/
I enjoyed reading your blog. It got me thinking about the biodiversity in my town, which isn’t much, unless you include the mountains that surround it. The mountains have deer, bears, and other small animals like squirrels and stuff, but it doesn’t compare to something as vast as a rainforest for instance. I really liked how you explained ways for your town to protect the biodiversity.
Hey James! My name is Cassandra Oresko, and I was interested in your blog because of our similiar idea upon biodiversity, but also our differences in questions. You and I both focused on biodiversity in our specific hometown, which I thought was a great idea because this gives the student the ability to think outside the box and think about their personal hometown which makes him/her think a little more upon the idea of biodiversity. However, I really liked your second question because this causes the student to think about our solutions to save biodiversity and make him/her actually realize if we are saving the environment or our actions aren’t good enough. This can cause students to come up with better ways to save biodiversity, this was a great post! Here is a link to my own blog post:
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/11/biodiversity-cassandra-oresko-module-10/
Hi James! My name is Amanda and here is a link to my blog post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/10/biodiversity-hotspots-amanda-giedroc/
I enjoyed reading your post! I thought your learning activity was great as it encourages people to think about biodiversity in their hometown and how they can help protect it. It makes the concepts presented in the lesson real to the learner. In contrast, my learning activity focuses on biodiversity hotspots. I ask the viewer to choose a hotspot, discuss the species present in the are, and the factors which lead to biodiversity loss. Then, the person must choose an IUCN category to apply to the area.