Galapagos Finches Drought

Some finches inherited longer beaks, this allowed them to open more seeds and access more food. Inheriting the longer beaks is not proven, but any animal inherited traits just like humans. So gathering this information we can conclude that they inherit their long beaks. Having a long beak was crucial in order for the finches to survive through the drought. Two finches, for example, that survived the drought, had bigger beak sizes. Gf69 had a beak length of 13.01 millimeters and weighed 13.41 grams. Another finch that survived the drought had a beak length of 10.97 and weighed about 12 grams. Yet a finch that didn’t survive had a beak length of 9.92 millimeters. All 10 finches that survived through the drought had longer beaks that averaged to 11.939 millimeters. This is a large beak size compared to a bird that did not survive with a beak length of 7.21 millimeters. A bigger beak length allows a finch to pry open harder seeds unlike the finches with smaller beaks. Some field notes were taken from the Grants, and they told us that a finch was spotted struggling to open a seed. For this reason finches with longer beaks were able to get food more easily than finches with smaller beaks. In conclusion, some finches had a longer lifespan than other for the reason that they had longer beaks. On top of that they were able to survive the

The drought of the 1903s covered almost the entire decade. Many of the crops were destroyed because of the high winds insect infestations, high temperatures, dust storms and the

The Grants observed how the two ground finches preformed while attempting to obtain a seed called a Caltrop. Caltrops naturally have spikes around the seed as a defense against intruders. The Magnirostris did not have a hard time cracking open the Caltrop, with its hard, powerful jaw. However the Fortis would have to put more effort into cracking a single seed. The regular Fortis would try for six times and then give up, moving on to another seed. They will often move onto a different seed without trying. However the Fortis with a beak that is slightly deeper beak would attempt to crack the caltrop, and after a few tries, will succeed.

No one could have foresaw a drought occurring and even the most experienced farmers might have thought if a drought were to hit it would not last long. Worster states, “Over the nation as a whole, the 1930s drought was in the words of a Weather Bureau scientist, “the worst in the climatological history

The drought was brought on by changing climate in the mid-west; the drought during the Dust

As a historically semi-arid environment, California has also suffered heavily from several environmental impacts as a result of the current drought conditions. The first of these is on its forests. The US Forest Service estimates that 12 million trees have died in the past year due to drought; this combined with the drying of forest floor material greatly increases the flammability of the landscape. The result of this is the numerous devastating wildfires that have swept through the state throughout 2015, costing not only wildlife and habitat but also human property (CBS News, 2015) (Lustgarten, et al., 2015) (Google, 2015). Aside from wildfires, the drought and associated loss of habitat is said to be having a negative effect on both flora and fauna due to their contribution to the spread of West Nile Virus, whilst also threatening populations of geese, ducks, salmon and Joshua trees (Lustgarten, et al., 2015) (Beaudry, 2015). Finally, with groundwater contributing up to 50% of stream flow in drought, there is a worry that over usage near the coast could result in irreversible salinization through the drawing in of salt water (USGS, 2016) (Kasler & Reese, 2015).

The Dust Bowl drought was the worst in U.S. history that was around 1930. It was in the mid west where it covered sixty percent of the country. Millions of people had to move to other parts because it lasted four years. It was "at its peak in 1934" according to "National Climate Data Center". We already have a lot of drought in California and west although one might say it is all of the U.S. With little rain and high tempatures in the summers drys out the vegatation which become a hazard for fires. Global warming might have some to do with the problem of drought. High populations need more water, with more water being used, depletes resources of water supplies which causes drought also. People need to become more aware of the use of the use of water, a lot of people take it for granite that there is plenty out there for all of us to share. In fact, if we don't start to conserve, we might not have water like we do in the future.

That made it a lot harder for the farmers to grow things. The wind blew all the remaining topsoil away. There were four droughts. Each drought came one after the other.

One of its most important characteristics is its beak. The finch adapted to have a thin, long beak to probe through moss, bark and leaves in search of food (Wildscreen Arkive, N.D.). These finches have the thinnest beak out of the 13 finches; which aids them to find small insects. The Green Warbler finch are mostly found in humid highland forest where their primary food source is found. These adaptations made them more fit to survive on available food. Over the years the finch’s beak has evolved as the bird developed different taste for insects. Another famous adaptation is how they camouflage in their environment. The Green Warbler is restricted to the forest and is greener in body colouration, while the Gray Warbler is found in shrubby, dry thickets and is greyer and duller looking (Certhidea olivacea, 2010). Their coloration helps them camouflage in their own environments, and to hide from predators. Recent studies have found that there are in fact two separate species of the Warbler Finch, the Green Warbler Finch and the Grey Warbler Finch, but are considered as a single species (Wildscreen Arkive, N.D.). The Green Warbler finch mainly occupies larger, inner islands, while the Grey Warbler finch inhabits the smaller, outer islands (Green Warbler Finch,

Drought can occur for many different reasons. Drought mostly occurs by not receiving rain or snow for a prolonged period of time. This can occur if wind patterns change. Humans can also cause drought by cutting down broad areas of trees resulting in the soil in the ground being unable to hold water, a great example of this is the dust bowl of the

Most of us consider drought as a period of dry and hot weather with too little or no rain, and while any or all of these conditions might be existent during drought, the definition of drought is more complex and subtle. According to the United States Geological Survey, California Water Science Center (as cited in Congressional Digest, 2015, p. 2):

U.S. Secretary John Kerry calls, ” climate change can now be consider another weapon of mass destruction, perhaps the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction” (Arshad Mohammed,2014). In fact, many scientists say that today in California’s drought get worse on the record, for example in 2015, more than 97 percent of California was involved in an average drought or worse. (Stephan Feller, 2016).I try to find some reaches about California’s drought because my family and I are living in California, where it is a significant state in economy and politics. In addition, California’s drought has an effect on everything our life and environment. For example, in 2015, my family felt the weather was too hot, dry and intense, so some of us were more stressed and got sick. Moreover, according to the article “Global Climate Change” heat waves cause more deaths in the USA every year than hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes combined. For example, in the summer of 1995, according to Eric, Kleinberg (1995) reported” in Chicago , over seven hundred people had perished-more than twice the number that died in the Chicago Fire of 1871, twenty times the number of those struck by Hurricane Andrew in 1992—in the great Chicago heat wave, one of the deadliest in American history.” Drought in California affects us in many ways; as a result, we should know cause, effect and what to do about California’s drought.

Drought, like a destructing earthquake or flood, is a natural disaster. Drought is an insidious hazard to nature. It results from a deficiency of precipitation over a long period of time over an area. Precipitation is any kind of moisture like rain, snow, and sleet. One can determine how malicious a drought can be by the amount of precipitation, and how long it is (Gleick, 2006).

6. Warmer temperatures increase the energy of the climatic system and can lead to heavier rainfall in some areas.

As discusses above, drought causes the shortage of plants and animals, which provide food for human beings. Therefore, the shortage of food causes problems for living.