Steller's Sea Cow Extinction

I believe that underwater noise has an effect on marine animals such as whales. Using information from the passages I will prove my point. Their numbers are declining rapidly and I believe that underwater noise has some involvement in the rapid decrease in their population numbers. The information given within the two passages will help prove my point.

Faith and Surovell referenced many figures and extinction mechanism studies employed in previous influential papers. In Multispecies Overkill Simulation of the End-Pleistocene Megafaunal Mass Extinction, Alroy creates a computer simulation modeling human permeation and large mammal population interactions by assuming slow human expansion rates, random hunting patterns, and very low hunting efficiency (Alroy, 2001). The model closely matched empirical extinction rates as well as population densities for humans, animals, and their overlapping regions (Alroy, 2001). Faith and Surovell references this paper's overkill mechanism as a possible explanation for the "abrupt and catastrophic" extinction. In Late Pleistocene Mammalian Extinctions in North-America - Taxonomy, Chronology, and Explanations, Grayson refutes the overkill method by stating only "two of the extinct genera" can be

According to Ohio State University, Brangus cows originated from Brahman and Angus cattle. Brangus cattle come in different colors such as red and black. The Brangus breed is actually a very muscular breed. Brangus have ears that are similar to Brahman, a little droopy. They have an appealing look, they have a smaller hump-like figure on their backs similar to a Brahman. Brangus cows can be a mix of one to three-quarters brahman, the rest Angus.

There are many ways that this animal could have become extinct. Besides humans there were no major predators known to kill this animal. The main reason for it becoming extinct was hunting it for its fur. There was no law on how many you could catch and kill. Another is that the young sea minks couldn't stay alive because the parents either got trapped or killed.

The concept of species going extinct was not always accepted as fact. It wasn’t until the discovery of the American mastodon that the concept of extinction was even considered. With the discovery of the bones, When the bones were discovered, many theories were constructed, such as that the bones were actually from multiple creatures, or that this was simply an undiscovered species and hadn’t been found. The discovery of other mysterious, lost species led to the concept of extinction, and the idea that the mammoth was indeed a species that, while it once was prevalent, no longer roamed the Earth. In chapter three, Kolbert writes about her visit to Iceland in which she learned about the loss of the great auk, a three foot tall bird reminiscent of a large penguin or puffin. She then proceeds to write the tragedy of the great auks, that being that they were regularly hunted and killed. The final moments of the great auk’s species can be tracked down, as they were captured and sold and their only egg was broken. The concept of human-caused extinctions wasn’t new, as Darwin wrote about how the Galápagos tortoises were dying out very rapidly due to overhunting. The extinction of species stems from events that drastically affect them, be them environmental changes to human

In Wisconsin the only state-endangered mammal is the American Marten. There are many theories on why the Marten has been having a rough time being reintroduced into the northern woods of Wisconsin. One of the theories is the Martens competition with Fisher, they exhibit overlapping niches and have developed a competition of the struggles for resources. However, they do coexist in Canada in have kept stable populations. The Marten doesn’t only have to face competition to hinder its effort to be reintroduced to the land it also faces climate change hurting the way fishers survive and thrive during the winter.

The lecture and the article cover the decline in sea otters population in the recent few years. Two main theories arised to explain that rapid decline. Pollution is suggested as the main reason behind this decline by the author. However, the lecturer opposes that. He believes that Predation is the main cause.

The West Indian manatee or "sea cow" is a manatee, and the largest surviving member of the aquatic mammal order Sirenia. An article published by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species states, “The number of mature individuals is currently estimated to number less than 10,000 (based on combined population estimates for the Florida and Antillean subspecies) and is expected to decline at a rate of at least 10% over the course of three generations (given a generation time of ~20 years) as a result of both habitat loss and anthropogenic factors (1).” By this, the article means that the population of The West Indian Manatee is far below average. The population is expected to decline by a rate of at least 10% over the next three generations. This is mainly due to human influence and loss of habitat. The same article goes on to state, “Threats to the Florida manatee encompass catastrophic natural events and anthropogenic factors (1).” This means that the decrease in population of The West Indian Manatee is partially caused by disastrous natural occurrences and human factors. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species states, “About half of adult mortality rangewide is attributable to human-related causes, primarily watercraft collisions (1).” This means that half of the deaths of The West Indian Manatee are caused by boating accidents. The article goes on to states, “Other

The author uses cause and effect to show the population of our fish decrease its numbers.

reason for downfall of these sea mammals, the lecture refutes this, stating that the Orcas-predation hypothesis are the

Steller sea lion pups possess thick rough coats with a mostly dark appearance. After the first molt, their color lightens. The complexion of female and male Steller sea lions is a golden-brown to a reddish brown. They have a somewhat darker shade in their chest and abdomen. Steller sea lions also display sexual dimorphism which means that the males are remarkably larger than females. Similar to all pinnipeds, the Steller sea lions have whiskers to sense prey. They also molt every year which parallels to other pinnipeds, and they are mainly insulated by blubber. In addition, they have flippers that are used for locomotion. Their sensory organs are accommodated to operate both underwater and in the air, but because they are mammals they have to come up to the surface in order to breathe.

Both the reading and lecture talk about the extinction of sea cows. The reading claims that there are three reasons about the extinction of sea cows. Howevere the lecture argues that no evidence proves those reasons that are correct. Thus, the lecture holds an opposite view of the reading.

Steller sea lions (Eumetiopias jubatus) are the only member of Eumetiopias and are one of the biggest of the eared seals. Steller sea lions feed mainly on fish, and sometimes even various types of shellfish. Many Steller sea lions can be found along the coast of Western Alaska. Generally, Western Alaska has relatively warm summers, cold winters, and mild temperatures during the spring and fall, with the highest amounts of rainfall during the summertime. Steller sea lions have recently come under the scope of many researchers because of their sudden and significant decline of population in recent times. In some places such as the Aleutian Islands, which is an island chain found in the Western part of Alaska, the population of Steller sea lions

First, the article claims that the sea cows may have been overheated by groups of native Siberian people. However, the professor refutes this point by saying that sea cow was a massive creature and couple of them will be enough to feed the Siberian population. Also, the Siberian population was not large, so they don’t have to hunt a lot of cows to feed themselves. As a result, they were not the cause that drop the cow’s population to the extinction point.

The article claims that the population of the sea otter has declined because of pollution, pradators and, uneven pattern of ocean currents. On the other hand, the professor does not believe factors of why otters dissappered and opposes each reason.