Summary: This article talks about the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico and how huge an impact it is having on all marine life. Even organisms that don't live in the ocean such as the Louisiana state bird are being effected. The article then talks about an organism that experienced huge immediate effect; the largetooth sawfish. It was listed as an endangered species only three weeks after the oil spill. Not only are big organisms going to be effected, many bottom dwellers will be effected too. The oil spill is limiting the range of habitats of different organisms, and this could lead to a decrease in genetic diversity. The oil is being carried by a loop current, or stream of water that flows near Florida. If this oil continues to flow there, it could threaten many of the native species. Coral reefs are being majorly effected because the oil destroys their ability to reproduce. Many species such as pelicans and whales are dying, and they cannot produce quick enough because of their slow reproductive rate, or late sexual maturity, making them less fit. A recovery time of one hundred years has been set to restore the sawfish, but the oil is destroying their habitat, and they may not have a place to live. The oil spill in the gulf is having a massive effect of all marine life, and everything connected to it.
This article is reliable because one of the people resourced (Gerald Weissman) was the editor-in-chief of articles published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology.
Opinion: I think the recovery plans for the organisms effected by this oil spill should be prioritized, because if not, a major extinction in this area could occur. If that happened, it would be very hard to restore life, and the environment would become much less stable than it was before. I know myself that I personally enjoy viewing all of the different marine life when I go to bodies of water, and this would not be possible here. Over time species become more fit through the process of natural selection, and this oil spill is limiting the genetic diversity of the species, so this process is moving backwards now. Without a big recovery plan in order, this habitat could be destroyed forever.
Questions
1. What do you thing of the recovery plan of one-hundred years?
2. How will humans be impacted by this oil spill?
3. What organism do you think will be impacted the most and why?
I picked this youtube video because i though it showed very good explanation son an oil spill and its effects on marine life. It explains the effects and it what harms and disease it cause to the animals and the wildlife
ReplyDeletehere is the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCSnD3KfjmM
1.What do you think of the recovery plan of one-hundred years? I think that we are lucky to have a recovery plan as is. although it would have been nice to get one to be quicker, but if it means taking the organism that potetially gets endangered back to a thriving number we will be very lucky. That is because the amount of time for natural seloection to take place and adaptations to occur it is relatively fast.
ReplyDelete2.how will humans be impacted by this oil spill? Well for starters we wont have as much oil for fuel so gas prices will increase, and with todays economy, that is not going to be very fun. Next we wont have as much food, or at least the coatal cities/towns nearby won't have food. Also commercial fisheries will be put out of buisness untill the problem is resolved. Not only that but the oil can travel using currents and go to different places including other continents and destroying ecosystems along the way. Finally, naturists won't stop talking about the incident and will continue harasing oil companies, and we will be criticised by other countries who drill for oil.
3.What organism do you think will be impacted the most and why? Well, a lot of organisms will be affected, but i think that the pelicans will be affected the most. That is because they rely on local fish for food, they need to hunt for that fish. The fish is in oil infested water so not only will the pelican will get covered in oil as well as the fish but it will also starve. Now from what I know, pelicans don't migrate, instead they live in one selective place, unlike the whale. The whale can go to a different place once it realizes that the ol is bad for it, although it will starve for the time being, it will soon find a new source of food. So really, the pelican has all the cons of the other organisms but non of the pros.
Opinion: I think that the oil spill in mexico should stop off shore oil all together. It caused so much damage in the Gulf of Mexico. I have seen pictures of the birds covered in oil and they ares suffocating and are unable to move. I think that we need to find another way to get oil or make more hybrid cars so we don't use as much oil. The Gulf was filled with oil and so many organisms were affect.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
1) Should we stop offshore drilling completely?
2) Should we make more hybrids to stop the overuse of oil?
3) What other ways can we solve the problem?
1. What do you thing of the recovery plan of one-hundred years?
ReplyDeleteI think that if we put more efforts into it, it could happen in our lifetime. Why should we do a little over a long time when we can get rid of the long term recovery plan that could be abolished by later generations. I think that if you want to get rid of disease and endangered animals, we need to act on it quickly and efficiently.
2. How will humans be impacted by this oil spill?
Humans are affected in that the fish they are reliant on for most of the gulf's economy are dead or inedible due to the oil, therefore causing unemployment. This also affects tourism because no one wants to go to oil drenched beaches to relax, they want clean sand and clean air.
3. What organism do you think will be impacted the most and why?
I believe that the apex predators of the ocean (sharks, whales, dolphins) will be the most directly affected because their food source, whether it be plant or animal, is also oil ridden and inedible, so it is doubly worse for these predators when their food's food is sick with oil poisoning or is unsafe to eat. This bioaccumulation could kill many of the predators and even put some on the threatened species list.