Choose two threats to biodiversity to research further and relate there problems to your hometown. Choose one from the modules and one to research on your own.
- The first threat to biodiversity I will be focusing on is overharvesting. Overharvesting has been a problem in this country for a long time in multiple ways. One example of this from the module that I thought was interesting was about deforestation in Pennsylvania. This was a historical problem where the clearing of the woodlands in Pennsylvania was used to supply fuel for iron furnaces. Also people liked the cleared spaces, so they removed the trees. The problem with this is that they did not account for how it would grow back. When new forests grow, they usually will not have the same biodiversity that the previous forest did. Overharvesting trees caused unnatural changes to the environment which negatively impacted all the animals and plants that were living there and forced them to find a new environment. Since this problem occurred in Pennsylvania, something like this could impact my hometown. Doylestown, PA has multiple forests and many species of wildlife living there. Recently an acre of forest near my home was burned down and that would definitely have a negative effect on the animals and plants that live there as they are forced to find a new place to live.
- Another threat to biodiversity I chose to research was water pollution. There are multiple types of water pollution and all involve putting something into the ocean that is not meant to be there. One of the main types of water pollution is eutrophication which is putting substances into the ocean that affects the chemical nutrients in the water. Too much of these nutrients can cause algae to grow excessively which leads to them blocking sunlight for fish or plants. Fish cannot reproduce without sunlight and the ocean plants cannot go through photosynthesis. Also when algae grow they use a lot of oxygen that is in the water leaving less for other fish. This leads to fish moving around to find better oxygen or if they are not very mobile they could die. My hometown is not close to an ocean, but there are multiple small bodies of water. From personal observation, I know that people lazily throw their waste into the water. This water pollution can have very bad effects on the marine life there especially because in a small body of water like a pond or lake there is nowhere to completely escape the pollution. Both overharvesting and water pollution are evident in my hometown and hurting the biodiversity in the area.
Info from: http://www.edurite.com/kbase/effect-of-water-pollution-on-biodiversity
Hey Bryan! My name is J.R. and I am a freshman here at PSU. Here’s a link to my blog if you want to check it out: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/13/module-10-hippo/ I wrote about HIPPO and how it relates to my hometown.
Your post caught my eye because of the way that you related these factors to your hometown like I did. Overharvesting is not a problem where I am from, but population is. The more people that come in, the more land we have to take from nature to turn into residences. People need to start to see what they are doing by destroying the forests. We aren’t the only species on this planet! Your points on water pollution are really interesting. I knew that algae could be a problem, but I had no idea that algae was benefited by the pollution.
Great job!
Bryan I really like how you did your first assignment on Pennsylvania biodiversity. I did not realize that we had overharvesting in our state. You gave me some information that I did not know. You also gave us very good information about water pollution. I did not realize that if you put chemical in the ocean or any other water source that can lead to too much algae in the water which could block out the sunlight for the fish and plants that grow there. The link to my assignment is http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/04/13/christina-liptak-module-10/.
Great post! Here is a link to mine if you get an opportunity https://wp.me/p3RCAy-eFz
After reading your post I thought I would comment on the topic of over-harvesting and deforestation. I live in Washington state, where we have a very well managed forestry program that is very often ran with full and voluntary cooperation with loggers. I really appreciate that after a timber harvest, the land is immediately replanted with new trees for the next crop. Many of the larger trees are always left to help retain the ecosystem and maintain a diverse canopy within the forest. It looks ugly after a clear cut for sure, but when you see the necessity for a renewable fuel and building source, it is a bit easier to deal with!
Hello Bryan, im Garrett and im a junior here at Penn State University Park. I liked your direction of your learning activity. I agree that over-harvesting can impose serious consequences to our environment. For example i have seen pictures of my farm from when my father was just a little boy and it appears that the entire farm was clear cut. Now every tree growing is regrowth and most of the trees are but of few varieties, ash, oak, and red maple. Now this has caused the environment to change, and the plants and wildlife to adapt to survive the changes. I also agree that throwing trash into an ocean or any body of water also has massive negative impacts on the biodiversity in that area. We as a whole need to take better care of our surroundings for future generations.
Again great comments! Check mine out if you get the chance!
http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/04/13/garrett-webster-biodiversity/