Influence of land use history on plant species richness
INFLUENCE OF LAND_USE HISTORY ON PLANT SPECIES RICHNESS An examination into how woodland age structure influences the development of plant communities on Southampton Common (September 2003) Introduction Southampton Common has been in public ownership for well over a thousand years. During this time it has accommodated army camps, racecourses, reservoirs, livestock pounds and even a cemetery (Southampton.gov.uk). Originally deemed as a grazing common, Southampton Common is now designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest; since 1993 a conservation management plan has been in implementation. Since 1993 ten Conservation Areas within the 148 hectares of the common have been concentrated upon, these areas cover a diversity of habitats from woodlands to heath. This experiment concentrated on the observations made at two differing woodland sites upon the common. Site 'A', as shown on the map in Appendix 'A', was an old woodland site (approximately two hundred years old), and Site 'B' was a new woodland site that has grown since 1945. The aim of the experiment was to compare the collated data from both sites and establish answers to the following questions: - . How do the new woodland patches differ in structure and composition from the older patches? 2. Does the age of a patch confer any special benefit in conservation terms? The hypothesis for this experiment was
What is a species?
What is a species? "Species is a Latin word meaning 'kind' or 'appearance.'" (Campbell and Reece, 2005, p.473). However, clarifying what actually constitutes a species is controversial, as Biologists cannot agree on a specific definition of the word. Species is a term used by humans in attempt to place different 'kinds' of organisms into distinct groups using taxonomy - biological classification. A scientific name in the form of a binomial nomenclature is used to describe these groups. It is always written in italics with the capitalised Latin genus name followed by the species name. Species, therefore, is a fundamental category in taxonomy and important in the scientific naming of organisms. It is therefore essential for us to have a proper understanding of species. However, as a consequence of Biologists being divided in opinion on the nature of species, several concepts have been proposed to define the term. Therefore the answer to the question 'what is a species?' differs depending on which species concept is applied. The biological species concept (BSC) is the most frequently used and widely accepted definition of species. This concept was originally proposed in 1942 by biologist Ernst Mayr. Ernst Mayr stated that "species are groups of interbreeding natural populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups." (Ernst, 1963 cited in Ridley,
Ladies and Gentlemen, I strongly support the motion that animals in zoos should not be caged.
The debate Ladies and Gentlemen, I strongly support the motion that animals in zoos should not be caged Freedom is something we all take for granted, the ability to do what we want and when we want is something we have become accustomed to. Unfortunately we in our infinite wisdom have decided that as humans, this right only applies to us and therefore we can cage and treat species such as animals in such a disgusting and revolting manner and yet we consider our actions to be justified. How would you consider the idea of being shot, put to sleep, taken away from your natural habitat, woken up in a new environment to be surrounded by steal bars, to be fed at a given time, to be restricted of movement and communication. I believe in today's society we call such individual's criminals and such places jails so why do we continue treating animals in such a way. Animals in zoos are usually kept in very cramped cages and do not behave as their wild counterparts do. Polar bears, for example, are given about 10 metres of walking space whereas in their Arctic home they roam for many hundreds of miles. Similarly other animals such as big cats and birds are often confined in cages where they lack exercise and encouragement. This lack of exercise can result in many of these animals developing unnatural habits such as pacing back and forth or swaying from side to side. We do not
A comparison of humans and animals
A COMPARISION OF HUMAN AND ANIMALS Argument: Since we use selective breeding to develop better breeds of animals, we should use selective breeding to develop better human being. I. The general principle is that any practice that is acceptable for animals is also acceptable for humans. First let us look at the relevant similarities and differences between animals and humans to determine the truth of the general principle. Even though there are similarities between dogs, cows and humans, in that they are all mammals, there are many important differences. Humans have a much higher level of Intelligence and self determination than other animals; this level of intelligence gives us freedom of choice at that animals do not possess. Since humans possess freedom of choice, issues related to reproduction should be left to the choice of the individual. A practice that is acceptable for them is not necessarily acceptable for human. Also, if we extend our general principle, we could say that since we routinely kill dogs taken to the dog pound and not claimed after several days, we could kill humans that nobody cares about. Hence the unstated general principle is false. II. ANIMALS IN COMAPRISON TO HUMANS GENETICALLY Narcolepsy - sleeping sickness - is a strange enough disease in humans, but the idea that dogs fall victim to it as well seems far fetched. Except that it's true
The effects of deforestation on animal suffering
The effects of deforestation on animal suffering It is a statistical fact that every day a large amount of forest is destroyed. The main cause inflicting this destruction is without any doubts deforestation. The cutting of trees, for the consumption of man is a full time threat to the world's natural forests along with the animal species which inhabit the area. Factual statements say that over eighty percent of the Earth's natural forest has been destroyed due to mankind, a large number when seen in perspective. This makes one think, "how long can it last for?" The growing population demands more every day, and if up until now the depletion of woodland has been so severe, then what can we expect in the future? It is proven that if the current rate of destruction is to continue, most countries will lose their rainforests and woodland within our lifetime. This is a critical state. It takes only a couple of minutes to cut down a tree, but takes thousands of years to grow one. Place all that data together, and you're not likely to have much left within a hundred years. It is said that "If the world continues at the current rate of deforestation, the world's rainforests will be gone within 100 years-causing unknown effects to the global climate and the elimination of the majority of plant and animal species on the planet."* It is due to this that measures must, at all costs, be
Define Species.
IB Biology SL II Ryan Martucci Topic: 4 - Ecology and Evolution Date: 5-24-02 Period: 4th Sub-topic: 4.4 - Classification 4.4.1 1 Define Species. A species is a particular kind of organism; members possess similar anatomical characteristics and have the ability to interbreed. 4.4.2 2 Describe the value of classifying organisms. This refers to natural classification. Include how the organization of data assists in identifying organism, show evolutionary links, and enables prediction of characteristics shared by members of a group. Taxonomy uses organisms and groups them according to similarities for natural classification including internal and external make-up, evolutionary relationships, and phylogeny. The reason why classifying organisms is so important is first of all gets rid of the chaos and confusion because it is human nature to be orderly and be able to organize things for ways to deal with things. Another reason is so that a person could see and understand evolutionary relationships between organisms. Also classifying is valuable because of the predictive value because several members of group have things in common so it would common to them all. Lastly it is important to classify organisms for species identification because it gives a universal name to an animal or plant and everyone in the world knows that
Discuss the importance of human activities in maintaining the biodiversity of semi-natural ecosystems. Include the importance of man-made habitats in promoting biodiversity.
Discuss the importance of human activities in maintaining the biodiversity of semi-natural ecosystems. Include the importance of man-made habitats in promoting biodiversity. Humans play an important role in maintaining the biodiversity of semi-natural habitats. Such areas are managed to prevent succession, conserve rare species and try to improve species richness. This conservation is putting to good use the country resources for amenity and recreation. Semi-natural ecosystems have many important values, including economic, environmental, wildlife, archival and heritage. Without human activities the biodiversity of semi-natural ecosystems would more than likely decrease in response to succession, agricultural processes, including nutrient enrichment, and to atmospheric pollution. Human activities aim to maintain natural ecosystems, traditional landscapes, high biodiversity and target species and community types. Many man-made habitats have improved species richness and had positive inputs to the environment. These include chalk and limestone quarries, gravel pits and inland waters, and the building of canals. In the UK many different semi-natural habitats are targeted and maintained by human activity. These include, the management of fens, moorland conservation, woodland conservation and grassland mangement. Fens are rare habitats in the UK, with many containing a
Heat Transfer in Animals.
Heat Transfer in Animals As with all objects, living organisms gain and lose heat energy through conduction, convection, and radiation. They react to the temperature in their surroundings, and attempt to reach a 'thermal equilibrium', meaning that both the temperatures within and exterior to the organism will try to be the same. However, the maintenance of body heat is crucial to the survival of an animal. It must be kept as stable as possible. Overheating will lead to dehydration and under-heating to hypothermia. There are different methods of attaining a stable body temperature in different species of animals, depending on their diet, habitat and behavior. Also to be taken into account is the fact that chemical reactions taking place inside the body of the organism tend to release heat. This can be useful if the organism lives in a cooler climate, but dangerous in a hotter habitat. In this essay, I will first describe the difference between warm and cold-blooded animals. Then I will attempt to answer this question: "What techniques have animals developed in order to keep their body temperature at an acceptable level?" To answer this, I will briefly describe several different kinds of animals and their various means of attaining a stable body temperature. Warm and cold-blooded animals: Warm-blooded animals are animals that are endothermic. This means that their
Is the goby hypoxia tolerant?
Hypoxia is a condition in which there is a decreased amount or absence of oxygen in the blood. This condition often arises when an organism is placed in an environment in which oxygen levels are much lower than normal. In the case of ocean dwelling creatures oxygen levels are determined by the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. Most fish are not able to tolerate poorly oxygenated water conditions for any extended period of time. But, a recent study has shown that the coral-dwelling goby, a tropical fish, often endures the harsh conditions of poorly oxygenated water. Amazingly, although in shorter durations, they can also survive periods of complete air exposure. Other species of fish avoid hypoxia by swimming elsewhere when conditions are not favorable. This is not an option for the goby because, they choose to spend almost their entire lives in a tiny space created by the adjoining of two coral branches. While the coral provides the goby with a habitat safe from predators in which to live and mate in, the water around the coral is often prone to low oxygen levels. Three factors contribute to the low oxygen levels in this setting. The first is the obvious reason of restricted movement of current, not allowing for proper oxygenation. The second occurs when night falls and phototrophs can no longer perform photosynthesis, stopping their normal production of
Should Animals Have the same Rights as us?
Animal Rights an insight for the Future Should animals have the same rights as us? A complex and largely controversial issue, it has been debated for many a year in the past but what does it mean? What impacts would it have upon us and our environment? The idea behind the belief of animal rights is that since they are living breathing organisms they should be given rights that equate more or less to that of human. They should be given freedom of movement and not be exploited in ways just as farming for food. Research has been undertaken in animals such as chimpanzees that are allegedly more human like than we first thought. If an animal is able to make its own choices for itself such as say the choice to hunt, or as seen in chimp behavior interact with each other, then surely their position should be reconsidered. Shouldn't it? On the 10th of December 1948 the United Nations met to draw up the constitution of human rights known as The Univeral Declaration of Human Rights. It hoped to guarantee a just and pleasant livelihood for all human including things such as 'Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.' This means simply that humans are subject to freedom within their life and security or safety within their society. Others involved the capabilities of humans and therefore how they should treat others and be punished accordingly for wrongdoing.