Jonathan Liu
October 20, 2013
Published: October 9th, 2013
URL:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131009130122.htm
Summary: In a study from the September issue of Ecology and Society, scientists researched 15 social, economic, ecological variables -- from tourism and per capita gross domestic product to water stress and political stability. Then researchers examined their correlations with invasive and endangered birds and mammals. One variable that showed up during this study was human life expectancy. Human life expectancy was shown to be a key predictor of global invasions and extinctions. Wealthier countries (countries with high GDP) tend to have higher life expectancies because they have the money to afford medical expenses. The higher GDP a country has, the more invasive mammals and birds the country had. This was just one of the several findings of the research mentioned in the article. Also. increased life expectancy means that people live longer and affect the planet longer; each year is another year of carbon footprint, ecological footprint, use of natural resources, etc. The magnitude of this impact is increased as more people live longer.
Relevance: One of the things we studied this term were invasive species and factors that caused loss of biodiversity in ecosystems. This article talks about a factor that contributes to invasive birds and mammals, which is human life expectancy. In the study that the article talks about, it also looks at other unique variables that effect biodiversity, such as adult literacy. We also talked about biodiversity and the health of ecosystems in class, and this article talks about human factors that effect ecological health and biodiversity.
Are there any specific invasive species-human relationships explained in the article? If so, are there any ways to prevent the presence of those species?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately there are no specific relationships in the article. It just talks about correlations between certain factors and the amount of invasive species. Human and economic factors such as trading is probably a main reason for invasive species. One the species are there, there's not much you can do. You can try to kill them off I guess, but killing all of them off would only be really possible if their reproduction rate was slow. Most invasive species have faster reproduction rates than other species in the area, which is why they become more dominant.
DeleteWhat are some ways that people could limit the loss of biodiversity?
ReplyDeleteWell first off we must prevent further introductions of invasive species. Next we should try to get rid of the invasive species currently in the ecosystem. As I said in the reply above, it will be difficult to completely wipe out an invasive species, but we could try to lessen its population to a point where it won't be that much of a threat the the health of the ecosystem.
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