Turtle Distinction Essay Research Paper For many

Turtle Distinction Essay, Research Paper

For many reasons the human race could be called a blessing. Great

advanced in technology, medicine and even the fact we are the most sophisticated

species on the planet. Are we a gift to planet Earth, or far from it. With cast

amounts of pollution and destruction of the planet, not to mention unthinkable

acts of violence and hate that has been going on since the beginning of time.

Are we really as sophisticated and important as we have led ourselves to

believe. Are we any better than any other creature because we are more

technologically advanced. Is the human race a blessing. Humans have destroyed

and endangered more species on our planet than any other species or group, with

our continuous pollution and lack of respect for out own environment. One area

of the world affected by our careless habits is our coastlines and the marine

habitats that vast amounts of species rely on. These particular areas of the

world are being destroyed because humans don.t seem to care as long as they

make a couple of dollars in the process. Oil spills like the one in the Prince

William Sound on the coast of Alaska and Hawaiian sea turtles and their many

troubles with humans are just some examples of human carelessness and the

consequences that the environment, particularly marine wildlife incur, which

often are fatal. I chose this particular subject because I find the ocean and

it.s unique and rare inhabitants to be interesting. Every coastline has its

one unique species and no two areas are the same. I wanted to learn more about

how humans are destroying the habitats of these unique creatures. I found that

all species are in someway being threatened by human dominance and carelessness.

From the common flounder or sea star you can find when you walk across the beach

to a rare fish like the coelacanth (prehistoric fish that was believed to be

extinct until one was caught off the coat of Madagascar by a local commercial

fisherman until in the 1950.s). The ocean can be a calm and loving but can

easily turn into a vicious killer within seconds. All of these things are what I

find so interesting about the ocean. I wanted to find out why people can

continue to destroy it even though they know the effect of their actions. I

guess some people are ignorant and just don.t care if they destroy the things

that make our environment so beautiful. One example of our careless destruction

of our environment is the Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska in

1989. The Prince William Sound still shows signs of the oil spill tem years

later. Most species have recovered since the spill, but many are still

suffering. The Harbor Seal and herring are just two who are vital to the

survival of all the species in the area. Herring are the main source of food for

many species in the area, including humans. (Mitchell, p.98) .The ecosystem is

gradually recovering from the spill,. says Molly McCammon, an Executive

director of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, .but it will never be

the same as it was twenty years ago.. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee

Council was founded to oversee the use of nine hundred million dollars to the

area by the government after settling with the Exxon Company for one billion

dollars in criminal and civil damages. One serious problem in the aftermath of

Exxon Valdez is the decline of herring. (The table shows the chave in

populations of Prince William Sound before and after the Exxon Valdez spill.)

Even more disturbing than the fact herring aren.t recovering as well as other

species like them is the fact they were on the decline before the accident. This

was a major issue because herring are the center of the ecosystem in the Sound.

Many biologists now believe that over fishing of the herring has contributed to

their decline. The Pacific Herring is just one species of the area, but if you

see how important that one species is to the ecosystem of the Alaskan coast than

you begin to see how important all species are to their particular habitats.

This is just one example, but if you take a species out of its environment, then

a chain reaction would occur, hurting the species around it. Another species

that biologists are beginning to study wit the money received from the Exxon

Valdez settlement is the Alaskan Salmon. The oil spill has left the Alaskan

Salmon on the decline until recently, but still the species is reeling. .The

last two years have been extremely positive for the Alaskan Salmon

population,. stated one Alaskan biologists. But her concerns were more focused

on the salmon offspring, which had been effected by the spill. Fry, as seen in

the left vial, were damaged by the oil. The fry still come in contact with oil

when oil pockets seep into some intertidal spawning streams. .These pockets

are like mines,. says Jeffrey Short, a scienti

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