Biodiversity hot spot

I chose the Horn of Africa for my hot spot.

1)The Horn of Africa is a very diverse spot. It is home to the largest endemic reptile population in the world. It is also the home of many other animals such as baboons, antelope, beira, dibatag, and gazelle. The Horn is  1.5 million km² in size.

2) and 3) Endemic plant –  cucumber tree (Dendrosicyos socotrana, VU)

Endemic Animal – Antelope,  beira (Dorcatragus megalotis, VU).

4) This hot spot is one of the most depredated spots in the world. It has been used for over grazing by humans. It is also being largely used to gather coal for personal use and exporting.

5) this is a hot spot because it is a large area that is being drastically changed because of over use. Humans are using it to graze their animals such as the sheep and goats and camels. This is causing a huge shift in the environment and causing drought due to the lack of vegetation to allow the rivers to stay controlled. Animals are becoming endangered and even extinct because of the lack of food sources and water. There are burns that are killing off other plants and allowing others to come back and take over.

6) Jebel Samhan National Nature Reserve is the home of a population of Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus minor, CR), a Critically Endangered subspecies. You can contact them by calling  1-800-490-0512 they do tours and to help gain income.

7) yes I believe we should be concerned with the degradation of this hot spot it will just continue to grow and will spread and will eventually reach us. We still rely on these spots and so do the animals that live there. If we do not care about it happening in other places we will not care if it starts happening to us. We need to stand up and make a change now to protect these spots and the world. Without doing this it will eventually happen to the rest of the world and become unchangeable. 

Lab 11 wildlife corridor

1)      I am choosing a “Equus caballus”(web November 15), more better  known as a horse.

2)      I have chosen to use horses in my example because it is a creature I rarely see in the wild. 2 things that impede the growth of the wild horse population would be humans capturing them and roads that have cut their habitats into sections. Humans have since the beginning of time captured and tamed wild horses to be able to use them and ride them. This has drastically decreased the amount of free roaming horses.

3)      The horses need the corridor to be able to connect to the land on the other side of busy freeways, highways and just roads in general. Without the corridors horses face a huge risk of being hit by a vehicle while trying to cross to the other side, this would not only kill or seriously injure the horse but could be fatal or harmful to the people in the car. Not only would this be a current day solution but in the future could save the lives of not only animals but humans as well.

4)      

I have chosen to use a bride as my corridor. I plan to make it at least 1000 feet wide as recommended in the paper in the instructions. I plan to plant grass across the whole bridge and have a wall fence that is at least 6 feet in height. I have chosen 6 feet to make it difficult for any animal to jump over the fence I also plan to build trees or bushes next to the fences or perhaps vines on the fence, to give it a more natural appeal to the horses as not to frighten them. IT would start out on both side at an upward slope that connected at the middle of the road to connect both sides. It would have pillars in the middle of the road to support the weight of the bridge.

5)      There are already many fences built on the sides of the roads to keep animals from getting onto the road so if we kept those fences and even built more if needed it would force the horses to go to the bridge to be able to cross to the other side. This would allow them to become accustom to the bridge and learn that it is there for their use, they will then have a larger area to create a larger population.

6)      (same as #4)

7)      

References

"Equus Caballus (Horse)." Equus Caballus (Horse). N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

"Equitrekking." Equestrian Travel Articles. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

"Devon Road Bridge." Devon Road Bridge. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Endangered Species Lab

1)    Scientific name – Juturnia Kosteri

Common name – Springsnail, koster’s

Taxonomic order – Neotaenioglossa

Taxonomic family – hydrobiidae

2) 

3) the snail is a foundation specie. They keep the water clean and drinkable, they are also a food source for fish and other animals.

4) the snails keep the water clean by eating the algae. They are used as a food source for fish and other animals.

5) 

scientists predict that the population will decrease 50% if they were not to have been put on the endangered species list.

6) The water level and water chemisty and the vegetation all affect the springanil’s. If the water level declines it will kill a lot of the plants and algae they feed on. And with human interference polluting the waters, is also killing off the snails.

7) The snails are density independent there population fluctuates on how much water is pumped out thus lowering the water level and the amount of pollutants that are put into the water by humans.

8) “Turgeon, D.D., J.F. Quinn, Jr., A.E. Bogan, E.V. Coan, F.G. Hochberg, W.G. Lyons, P.M. Mikkelsen, R.J. Neves, C.F.E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F.G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J.D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland: 526 pp.”

9) the most recent article I could find was published July 16, 2014 - http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/07/11/biosci.biu100.full.pdf

10) "Koster's Springsnail (Juturnia Kosteri)." ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System. U.s. Fish and Wildlife Service, n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2015. (question 1)

            Hershler, Robert, Hsiu-ping Liu, and Jeanette Howard. "Energy Development and Wildlife Conservation in Western North America." (2011): n. pag. <i>Http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/</i>. BioScience Advance Access, 16 July 2014. Web. 7 Nov. 2015. (question 2)

            "National Museum of Natural History Unearthed." 'National Museum of Natural History Unearthed' N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2015. (question 3 and 4)

            "Results Detailed Report." Results Detailed Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2015. (question 1and 8)

Lab 9 Freshwater Ecosystems Lab

Part A -
1) My freshwater ecosystem a stream behind my house in Rimrock AZ.

3) Temperature - The temperature of the water is 18 degrees Celsius. 

 4) Turbidity - The Turbidity is 0 JTU

8)Ph - The PH of the water is 8

5)Dissolved Oxygen - The dissolved oxygen is an 8.

7)Nitrate - the nitrate level is 5.

11) test factor:                           result:                                 Rank:

      Dissolved Oxygen                8   84%                               3 (good)

      Coliform Bacteria               Negative                             3 (good)

      pH                                         8                                          3 (good)

      Temperature Change         0 degrees                            4 (excellent) 

      nitrate                                  5 ppm                                 2 (fair)

      phosphate                            2 ppm                                 3 (good)

      turbidity                              0 JTU                                 4 (excellent)

12) 

B) "dissolved oxygen in water is held more at colder temperatures than it is in warmer temperature water.  The nitrate in water is needed by all aquatic plants and animals to build protein. pH is how acidic the water is its best to have a neutral level. phosphate is needed by plants and animals for growth. temperature is extremely important it determines the level of dissolved oxygen, rate of photosynthesis and the sensitivity of organisms to toxic wastes, parasites and disease." 

reference: Low Cost Water Monitoring Kit. Alexandria, VA: Earth Force, 2001. Print.

Part B - 

1) "I am doing my summary on The Red Sea - Dead Sea By Kristiana Donnelly.

The article discusses the Dead Sea which is located by Jordan, Israel, and Palestinian National Authority. It talks about Israel in 1993 proposing to desalinate the water in the Dead Sea to create 1 billion cubic meters of water. It did not happen because it would have costed 4.2 billion dollars and the national bank said that they would not help."

reference:  R, W. A T E, B. R I E F, and 2. The Red Sea–Dead Sea Project Update (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

2) I thought this was awesome I had no idea you could desalinate water. Except through evaporation. If we could do this everywhere we would not have to worry about water shortage. Although I do not know the impact it would create on sea life and even level. Its too bad  that it cost to much for them the countries to desalinate the water. Not only would it create a lot of water for nations that need it but it could show us possible circumstances that would happen if we did it in other oceans. 

Lab 8 Climate Change

Josef Elliott

Bio 105

Lab 8 Climate Change

            I have chosen to use the “Environmental Protection Agency. Climate Change Basic Information” article.

            Part 1 Climate Change:

1)    I agree with everything said in this article. There is nothing in this article that I did not find to be untrue. I had not known actual numbers on climate change thought and learned them in this article. In the article they say “Earth's average temperature has risen by 1.5°F over the past century, and is projected to rise another 0.5 to 8.6°F over the next hundred years.” This to me surprised me.  I had thought when we started hearing about global warming it would be by a high number like 15 or 20 degrees. I had no idea it was just 1.5.

2)    Three places I could look if I had have any questions would be to look online at any reputable website. As in the ones we were provided for this lab. We also have our textbooks that we are using for the class. It is full of useful information that has been checked for accuracy. We could as an expert in Environmental biology such as a teacher or a scientist. We could even go to a library and look for books that pertain to the subject we wish to check.

3)    Yes having a background in environmental biology helps a lot. As I stated in question one without knowing anything about environmental biology I thought that when they said global warming it would be by some high number, like 15 or 20 degrees at least. Now with learning environmental biology I know that earth would most likely be destroyed at that rate and that all it takes is a very little change to change the whole earth’s environment. Still reading this article without having learned environmental biology I would have told myself what are we worrying about if global warming is only going to increase by 8.6 degrees Fahrenheit within the next 100 years. But thanks to this class I now know that if this happens it will set off a chain of events that will drastically change the way we live on earth.

Part 2 Biotic Communities

1.     I live in Rimrock Arizona which is “154.12 Arizona Upland Subdivision - Sonoran Desertscrub.” 

Bibliography –

·       "Climate Change: Basic Information." Basics. EPA, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

·       "Climate Change: Basic Information." Basics. EPA, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

Lab 6 field methods

Part 1 A Qualitative vs. Quantitative, Dimensional Analysis, and Growth

Qualitative –

1)      I see that the plants are the color green.

2)      There is brown dirt. It’s the brown that you see in the dirt after it has rained.

Quantitative –

1)      There are 12 green plants total.

2)      There are 4 planter boxes filled with the brown dirt.

Part 1 B Dimensional analysis

1)      A four-pound bass weighs how many grams?

There are 453.592 grams in a pound.

Equation 4 x 453.592 = 1814.368grams

Part 1 C Linear VS. Exponential Growth

1)      The graph for this question is attached as a photo.

2)      Question 1 – The most profitable is to earn a dollar with a 25% increase each day.

Question 2 – The six dollars a day while earning another six dollars each day at day 6 seamed the most profitable it was well above the pay of the one starting at only a dollar.

Part 2 B Measurements of Biodiversity

11) I choose this sight because it is our families garden.

Part I C

                                    Location                    N level/rating    P level /rating      K level/rating     pH level/rating

Sample A                         garden	N2 adequate	P2 adequate	K3 adequate	7.0 neutral
Sample B                         Lot across the street	N3 sufficient	P2 adequate	K2 adequate	6.5 slight acid

6)A) The nitrogen and phosphorous. They both contain phosphorous and oxygen.

B) We have to have soil to grow crops or anything. That we need to survive.

C) different soil types show the different regions it shows biodiversity because, one soil is in one place.

D) erosion – can carry sediments to new places.

Human interference – add different soils together changing the composition.

Genetically modified – we can engineer different types of soils.

Owl pellet Lab