CAUSES OF BIODIVERSITY LOSS |
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One of the biggest threats to biodiversity is habitat destruction or encroachment. Our constant development means that we must destroy natural ecosystems in the name of progress. Sometimes our development does not destroy an ecosystem but simply decreases its size. This in itself can be destructive. Many animals have a certain range that they must maintain in order to live. If they do not have access to this area, their lives are significantly altered. Closer quarters causes more competition between species, and this may lead to the eventual extinction of one or more species. See Development for alternate methods of building. |
Coastal areas are developed as vacation areas or as simply areas of sprawl for large
cities. When this occurs, the oceans are affected, along with all
the life in them. See Terrestrial
Ecosystems for more details on problems affecting these transition zones.
| Blast fishing is practiced in many areas. This is the process whereby dynamite is placed into an area in order to catch a large quantity of fish. Coral reefs especially are devastated by this activity. It is most prominent in undeveloped countries where this practice has existed for years. |
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SOLID WASTE
Dumping of garbage at sea. Plastic in our garbage causes enormous problems. It kills or injures many marine animals and birds either through accidental entanglement or ingestion of the material in the mistaken belief that the plastic is food (sometimes bags are misidentified as jellyfish). See Pollution.
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
The greenhouse effect will be accelerated as rain forests
are decimated. The forests move large quantities of water from the soil
to the air through evapotranspiration. As the earth warms in greenhouse predictions,
the rate of this process will increase. Therefore, cloud
production will increase and aid in reducing the surface temperature. While
this is a positive effect, the more trees which are cut, the more
nature’s capacity to maintain this temperature is lost. The greenhouse
effect will increase dramatically as the forests dwindle (Thorne-Miller and Catena
10). See the page on Greenhouse Effect for
more details.
OTHER PROBLEMS
Changing natural resources: Rerouting rivers and damming them sometimes interferes with natural reproduction cycles of fish
Overharvesting of specific species (see details in Marine Fish Management)
Pesticide use and runoff (see Integrated Pest Management)
Depleting nutrients in the soil due to poor farming techniques (see Land Management for more details)
Overpopulation and the need for land for food and habitat (see Overpopulation for more details)
There is now the threat of mining the seabed for minerals as we run low on these
resources on land. There is also talk of burying toxic waste at sea. Due to
the dispersal quality of water, the toxins would spread for miles.
