The Pros And Cons Of Amphibian Trade

How many people can say that they have a pet that has been around, in some form or other, for 300 million years? Reptiles are fascinating animals that have been around since the Carboniferous Period, 300 million years ago. Many different species of reptiles have come and gone over the course of time and there are five main groups. Turtles and tortoises are distinguished by the presence of their carapace, or shells, which is also their main defense against predators. Lizards are the most diverse and varied among the reptiles with many different types from chameleons, to iguanas, to geckos, to monitor lizards which includes the largest of all lizards; the Komodo dragon. Tuataras are the most ancient of reptiles and can be found exclusively

The article explains that several measures were proposed to reduce the cane toad population, and provides three reasons of support. However, the professor explains that it would not be easy to get rid off the cane toad population and several measures taken, but that were unsuccessful, and refutes each of the author’s reasons.

In this set of materials, the reading passage states several attempts to stop the spreading of cane toad in Australia and provides three reasons od support. While in the listening, the professor opposes the text book and says that the attempts are unsuccessful and may cause environmental damage. She also refutes each of the author’s reasons.

Feral species have the capacity to cause significant altering impacts upon biodiversity of an ecosystem (Phillips & Shine. 2006). In the endeavor to ‘Europeanize” Australia, alien invasive species have frequently been introduced, resulting in a negative impact upon the ecosystem (Paini. 2004). The renowned cane toad, Rhinella marina was introduced in the effort to eradicate destructive beetle species that were desecrating sugar cane crops in Australia, during 1935 (Department of the Environment. 2010). Following this introduction, cane toad populations have exploded, now covering over 1,000,000 km2, from northern NSW, to Queensland and the Northern Territory (Phillips & Shine. 2006; Department of the Environment. 2010). This cane toad species

The dramatic growth of the pathogenic chytrid fungus was directly linked to a warmer than average climate from 1986-1987, the result of an abnormal El Niño event (Anchukaitis and Evans 2010). Increased temperatures, due to anthropogenic global warming, further reduced cloud cover and allowed the fungus to persist and spread after the initial El Niño bloom. Cloud forests are further threatened by diminished moisture because of increased drought (Hu & Riveros-Iregui, 2016). Alternatively, black rats were unintentionally transported by humans to Asian and Australian cloud forests about 100 years ago. Human migration, colonization, and growth continues to create repercussions in cloud forest ecosystems mostly through increased deforestation, which fragments local areas and shifts the likelihood of survival to species with small territory requirements (Ponce-Reyes et al., 2013).

Frogs and Koalas are both becoming extinct and they are both losing their homes. According to the article, the population of Koalas had dropped because hunters killed them for their fur. Frogs have also had their population decrease because of the pesticides and weed killers farmers use on farms. The pesticides and weed killers get washed down into the streams and ponds where frogs live. Furthermore, in both articles, many people want to help to save these animals. They try to find ways to keep them from

The survival of humankind has depended on biodiversity since the beginning of time. Our dependency on biodiversity is more important today than ever before in our life time. Biodiversity is defined as the variety of species in an ecosystem or habitat on earth. There is an incredible amount of species of plants, animals and fungi. Sadly, many of these species have disappeared because of direct effects of human actions on our ecosystem. It is important that we consider that the advancements in human health technologies over the past decades have been possible because of many of these species of plants and animals which are now in danger of becoming extinct by the direct actions of humans. Many plants, animals, and fungi contain the

Have you heard that many animals today are going extinct because of people polluting the water, air Also because they are hunting animals for their fur, skins, and horns. But with your hearing the research I have conducted, I think you can also help stop animal extinction.I wanted to research this because I like animals and I want to stop animal extinction. I have been reading and learning about animals for my whole life . when I figured out that animal extinction meant animals are going to not be existing anymore, I knew I had to research about animal extinction. Have you asked yourself? What causes animal extinction? Well, what causes animal extinction is deforestation, greenhouse gases, forest fires, and pollution. “By burning fossil fuels, we are making hotter temperatures, melting polar glaciers Globally, power generation is responsible for about 23 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions per year” “Greenhouses gases, such as carbon dioxide, trap heat in the atmosphere and regulate our climate. These gases exist naturally, but humans adding more carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels for energy (coal, oil, and natural gas) and by clearing forests.Greenhouse gases act like a blanket. The thicker the blanket, the warmer our planet becomes. At the same time, the Earth’s oceans are also absorbing some of this extra carbon dioxide, making them more acidic and less hospitable to sea life

“Small things can make a big difference” is a worldwide famous saying, which has been passed on for generations, and although can be thought of in many positive ways, also applies to major problems, such as endangered animals. After digging deeper into this topic, I noticed that one endangered animal can (to some extent) change the lifestyle of humans, the population of other animals, and even the ecosystem, causing a mass domino effect. This helped me realize that endangered animals were causing many dangers to the species, as well as humans too. I divided my research into three increasingly threatening effects that have been caused by the endangerment of animals, disruptions of the food chain, loss of biodiversity, and change to the environment of the ecosystems affected.

Other viewpoints might say that Extinction for the Cave Salamander specifically might not be a large enough issue, due to the wide distribution of the Cave Salamander (Red List) .If, the Cave Salamander is not extremely endangered then we should not have to focus our efforts on protecting it. Some people might argue that the lack of biodiversity does not even affect humans and that we could cope with a loss if biodiversity, so the Cave Salamander would unimportant to humans (Jenkins, 2003). Even if Cave Salamanders indicate save drinking water, they do not

When people think of what causes animals to become endangered, some people say, ”It is natural. It is not anybody’s fault.” Others say,” We have to help the animals recover. We can try to make Earth a better place for them.” Well, studies show that 99% animal extinction is caused by humans. Humans cause more environmental damage and animal extinction than any other being.”When an animal species is considered endangered, it means that the International Union for Conservation of Nature has evaluated it as nearly extinct, which means that a significant portion of its range has already died off” (Bove 2017). Many animals are endangered, many species and many categories of animals (Amphibians, birds, fishes,etc.) Did you know that ⅓ population of the amphibians are at risk? These amphibians are dying because of ultraviolet light exposure, climate change water and air pollution. 12% of the birds are threatened. That is, 192

It is essential for amphibians to maintain a water balance during terrestrial migratory and dispersal movements (Spotilia & Berman 1976). If amphibians become dehydrated, their oxygen consumption and metabolic state becomes at risk (Pough et al. 1983). As with movement rates, water loss rates are species specific. The northern leopard frog has a higher loss rate than the marine toad due to the northern leopard frog’s higher diffusion rate of water through their permeably skin (Bentley & Yorio 1976). Also, toads typically live a more terrestrial life than most frogs and therefore have developed mechanisms to reduce water losses. Land-cover type and associated micro-environments play a big role in the water losses as amphibians move through terrestrial landscapes. Vegetation can influence soil moisture, humidity, shading, wind speeds, litter cover and other factors that influence water loss rates at the micro-environment scale.

The lifestyle of the amphibian is very complex and fragile. Just the mere fact that amphibians are biphasic causes them to run into a variety of problems. Since they deal with both an aquatic and terrestrial environment, they tend to run into an increased amount of pollutants and environmental changes. Pollution both on land and in water can affect water pH and other variables that can be very harmful to an amphibian’s survival. Since amphibians can be used basically as biomarkers to the environment, the study and resolution of this problem can aid in two conservation efforts. Not only will we be able to increase amphibian populations but we also help make environments less polluted. Healthy amphibians equal a healthy habitat for all.

Freshwater ecosystems feed into the most important natural source on the planet; water. They make up less than 0.01 percent of Earth’s total surface area. After pollution, human development, and climate change, freshwater systems are now one of the most endangered habitats in the world. Freshwater ecosystems are home to many unique species of wildlife, which causes much concern to the life expectancy of these animals and plants. With this community type being so endangered, concerns are raised about what needs to take place in order to preserve it. Billions of people live in an area of the world that does not have freshwater. With such a demand for freshwater, this number is continually rising due to the excessive use of this ecosystem. In the next twenty years, more than half of the planet will be without freshwater (World Wildlife Fund). If humans are unable to find access to freshwater, what does that mean for the animals and plants in this environment? Protecting the species’ living in the freshwater streams and rivers is becoming a big issue. When the water becomes contaminated, the organisms living in and off of it begin to struggle, causing drastic changes in the food web. Multiple species of fish, animals, and plants struggle to adapt and survive in these failing ecosystems, and people too, face increased flooding, lack of crops and declining intake of fish. Issues in this ecosystem, no matter how small, are affecting the delicate balance of the food web. When the

As the world population continues to grow and society changes so does pollution and the reality of creating harmful, unsustainable conditions to the ecosystem. Due to human activity large amounts of pollutants and contaminants are produced each year which make their way into our environment. For millions of years nature has had its’ own solution to keeping the environment clean using a natural bioremediation. Nature has used microbes, and fungi to breakdown and decompose dead plants and animals, and has used microbes and algae to clean the water. However, we pollute our air, water, and soil far faster than nature itself can clean up, and we have also introduced new disasters such as oil spills and nuclear contamination. Taking a cue from